MINNEAPOLIS — A 22-year-old woman from Otsego pleaded guilty Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court to criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation for a September 2021 crash that killed one driver and injured another.
April O'Leary admitted she was drunk and driving 124 mph when she rear-ended a Jeep Grand Cherokee on County Road 81 in Maple Grove at 4:30 a.m.
The driver of the Jeep suffered a badly injured leg, and first responders had to apply a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Phousalinh Khounpanya, 67, was driving a Toyota Sienna van that rolled. Khounpanya was killed in the crash.
According to the criminal complaint, O'Leary's blood alcohol content was .19, more than twice the legal limit. And a subsequent blood test revealed the presence of THC.
Reconstruction specialists with the Minnesota State Patrol analyzed the data modules from the three vehicles and determined that Oleary was driving at 124 miles per hour when she rear-ended the Grand Cherokee, which then veered into oncoming lanes and hit the Sienna. Investigators listed speed as the main cause of the fatal crash, with O'Leary's alcohol impairment being the secondary cause.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Apr. 10. There was no plea agreement, so under Minnesota's sentencing guidelines, O'Leary is looking at a presumptive sentence of four years in prison.
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