x
Breaking News
More () »

Woman pleads guilty in deadly Bloomington hit-and-run

Mikala Ness was charged in the killing of 17-year-old Donald Gayton, Jr., who was walking with his 14-year-old sister, Tamya.

MINNEAPOLIS — A woman accused of killing a teen pedestrian with her vehicle after a holiday party earlier this year in Bloomington pleaded guilty Monday to three counts of vehicular homicide.

Mikala Ness was charged in the killing of 17-year-old Donald Gayton, Jr., after prosecutors said she hit him with her vehicle on Jan. 27 and subsequently drove away. Donald was walking with his 14-year-old sister, Tamya, just after 6 p.m. when they were hit by the vehicle near 12th Avenue and 78th Street. Donald died two days later. Tamya was also transported to a nearby hospital and later released.

Bloomington police said Ness's vehicle was found after she crashed it nearby. She left the car and walked to another vehicle and a driver let her inside to stay warm. Court documents show as he was calling 911 to report the accident, Investigators say Ness started crying and made statements that she hit two people with her car and killed someone. 

Credit: Bloomington Police
Mikala Ness

Court documents also revealed that she was coming from a holiday party, and officers said they could smell alcohol on her breath. A preliminary breath test came back as a BAC of .13%, according to the criminal complaint.

Ness is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 21.

Watch more local news:

Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist:

WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+

Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota. 

Before You Leave, Check This Out