Charges: Driver 'Panicked' & Drove Off After Fatally Striking Man In St. Cloud
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 20-year-old man is facing charges for not staying at the scene Wednesday afternoon in St. Cloud after he fatally struck an 84-year-old man who walked into traffic.
Jeremiah Brown, of Minneapolis, is charged with failing to stop at a fatal traffic collision, a felony, court documents filed in Stearns County show. He faces a maximum sentence of 3 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $5,000.
According to a criminal complaint, witnesses saw a small black car drive through a green light on 1st Street North shortly after 3 p.m. and strike a man crossing at 5th Avenue North.
They said the driver got out and walked toward the wounded man before getting back in his car and driving off. Emergency crews brought the man to St. Cloud Hospital, where he died about an hour later.
The victim's name has not been released.
Witnesses got the car's license plate, and that led police to a home in St. Cloud, where they found Brown and the damaged car.
In an interview with police, Brown said that he was driving straight through the green light and didn't see the man until he struck the front of his car.
Brown admitted to getting out of his car and checking on the man, but said that he panicked and drove away. He added that he had a phone and could have called police at the scene.
