MINNETONKA, Minn. — A 20-year-old Twin Cities man is now charged with criminal vehicular homicide following a wrong-way collision on I-394 in the early hours of Feb. 18.
Prosecutors detail the case against Joseph Paul Maness in a criminal complaint filed in connection with the crash, which killed 30-year-old Alan Alexander Caraveo of Melrose and badly injured his passenger.
Troopers were dispatched to I-394 at Plymouth Road shortly before 4 a.m. that morning on reports of a head-on crash in the eastbound lanes. They learned that the driver of a Jeep Wrangler, later identified as Maness, had accessed the highway in downtown Minneapolis and driven westbound in the eastbound lanes until running head-on into a Chrysler driven by the victim.
The complaint says when troopers approached Maness' car and asked him if he knew he was driving the wrong way, the defendant replied "Sorry bro." He reportedly told troopers he had ingested about 10 drinks before the crash.
A preliminary breath test put Maness' blood alcohol concentration at .20, more than twice the legal limit.
Troopers also made contact with the occupants of the Chrysler. The driver, Caraveo, was unresponsive while his passenger suffered serious facial and internal injuries. Both were rushed to a local hospital where Caraveo was pronounced dead.
Maness is charged with criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation, both felonies. He remains in custody.
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