Drunk Driver Who Killed 1 & Injured Others After Crashing Into Building Sentenced

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 65-year-old man has been sentenced to nearly 7 years for driving drunk and crashing into a Zimmerman business, killing one and injuring multiple other people.

According to the Sherburne County Sheriff's Office, Robert Allen Johnson was sentenced Wednesday to 81 months, or 6 ¾ years in prison, in connection to the fatal crash in September 2017.

Johnson was previously convicted of criminal vehicular homicide, two counts of criminal vehicular operation with great bodily harm and two counts of criminal vehicular operation with bodily harm.

Johnson was driving a Chevy Tahoe east on Fremont Avenue in Zimmerman when he left the road and slammed into Reliant Systems, where employees were working. The truck plowed about 40 feet into the business before coming to a stop. First responders and witnesses worked to pull the injured from the rubble.

Victims Michael Milano, 44, of Zimmerman, and Daniel Elliott, 51, of Hamburg, were airlifted to North Memorial Medical Center for emergency treatment, the sheriff's offices said. Elliot later died of his injuries.

Two other victims, Kim Ann Mills, 51, of Anoka, and Heidi Jo Olerich, 47, of Zimmerman, were brought to hospitals via ground ambulances.

At the sentencing, Johnson argued for probation, but the judge denied the motion and sentenced him to the maximum term under Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines.

"A great loss was suffered by the families and the community due to the actions of one person," County Attorney Kathleen Heaney said. "We recognize that the Court decision today will never offset the loss. We only hope that the decision will allow the families some small solace."