ST. CLOUD, Minn. - A 17-year-old girl has been charged as the driver in a violent crash that killed a father and his young daughter in Sherburne County last summer.
Court documents show the Little Falls teen was charged last week with two counts each of vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation, texting and driving, and driving without a valid license. Investigators searched the girl's cellphone and determined she sent and received multiple messages on Facebook leading up to the fatal crash.
Authorities say 54-year-old Charles Maurer of Becker and his 10-year-old daughter, Cassy, were killed when a pickup truck driven by the teen slammed into their van on Highway 10 near Becker on July 27.
In a search warrant affidavit, a passenger in the truck said she asked the driver to stop texting and driving "approximately 8 to 9 times." But that the driver yelled at her and "commented something to the affect that she didn't care if she crashed."
"In this case, a passenger was trying to speak up against this behavior she knew was dangerous, she knew was unsafe," said Lt. Tiffani Schweigar, a Minnesota State Patrol spokesperson.
Lt. Schweigar said about 25 percent of crashes in Minnesota are because of distracted driving.
"Such a simple decision to put the phone down would've prevented this crash from happening. And like I said, this is equivalent to DWI in that the outcome can be the same and consequences that cannot be undone," she said.
Investigators initially identified an 18-year-old man as the driver of the pickup, but he and other passengers told state troopers that the 17-year-old was actually behind the wheel.
The affidavit states two of the teens plotted to say he was driving because he was the only one with a valid driver's license.
