CHISAGO CITY, Minn. - New, stepped-up charges have been filed against a Chisago County man after an 8-year-old boy he allegedly hit with his snowmobile died Wednesday.
Authorities say Alan Geisenkoetter Jr.,and his father Alan Sr. were assembling a portable ice house on Lake Chisago on Friday when they were struck by a snowmobile shortly before 8 p.m. The boy was airlifted to the hospital at that time, and his father was brought to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
On Wednesday, a Caring Bridge update stated the child's brain damage was worse than previously thought, and revealed that he had passed.
"Life changed today.... We met with the care team this morning." It went on to say, "Most of his brain was damaged. There was never a day we thought we would have to make a decision like this, the hardest decision we've ever made. Little Alan got his angel wings today."
There will be a memorial fishing event in memory of Alan on Saturday, Feb. 10 from noon to 4 p.m. on Chisago Lake. More information is available via the Facebook event.
The driver of the snowmobile, 45-year-old Eric Coleman, was brought to the hospital with a broken arm and other injuries after the crash.
He's now been charged with criminal vehicular homicide.
Prosecutors say Coleman has three previous alcohol-related license revocations, including one related to a crash he was involved in on November 2, 2017. After that incident Coleman's blood alcohol concentration was measured at .30, nearly four times the legal limit.
The family of the 8-year-old says they hope their story sends a message that drinking and driving is never OK.
"He was extremely outgoing, loved the outdoors, loved everything to do with it," said Alan Geisenkoetter, Sr.
Alan's mother Ellie says Alan was standing close to her as she and her husband unloaded their truck. That's when she says she saw the unimaginable.
"Like every other time we go fishing, he hears a snowmobile and wants to watch it go by, it was so fast, he took a couple steps forward to peak and the guy hit him," said Ellie Geisenkoetter.
Ellie says Coleman was coming from a fish house nearby and hit the back of their truck before hitting her son.
She says her family is still in shock that their sweet, loving little boy is gone. She hopes that this story sends a message that drinking and driving can affect another family's life forever.
"It's not worth it," she said. "Don't get behind the wheel of your car or any type of vehicle, you never know. He took away our son.”