BLAINE, Minn. — Charges have been filed against a Blaine man accused in the fatal hit-and-run of a woman walking her dog on Monday.
A criminal complaint says John Robert Jones, 31, is charged with one felony count of criminal vehicular homicide and leaving the scene.
Police say 56-year-old Bridget O'Keefe Dunn was struck by a vehicle while walking her dog near 109th Ave. NE and Flanders Court NE in Blaine on Monday afternoon. First responders attempted life-saving measures and Dunn was airlifted from the scene, but she died a short time later.
According to the criminal complaint, witnesses described seeing a white Chrysler 300 driving erratically in the area before striking Dunn, then driving away.
The complaint says investigators matched the license plate number to a nearby residence, where Jones' girlfriend said he had been driving the car that day. The complaint says investigators located a matching white Chrysler 300 in the garage, with obvious front-end damage. Jones' girlfriend told investigators he claimed he'd "struck a sign or a dog, and not to tell anyone," the complaint reads.
According to the complaint, investigators later spoke to Jones, who admitted to driving the vehicle in question on an errand when he struck something, but did not stop to check and returned home. The complaint states he also admitted to investigators that he does not have a valid license.
Friends described victim Bridget Dunn as a beloved mother of three and yoga instructor at Body Sense Pilates & Wellness Studio in Blaine.
Julie Jeppson, a city council member in Blaine and friend of the victim, pleaded with Anoka County to take action to improve safety along that stretch of 109th.
"It's just really frustrating," Jeppson said, "because there's only so much the city can do, to change county road flow."
Joe MacPherson, the Anoka County Engineer, said the county is taking a hard look at safety improvements in that area.
"109th is one of those that we're looking at, that has seen more residential and commercial pressure in the last several years," MacPherson said. "And so we are analyzing different options to make that roadway more capable."