ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced charges Tuesday against the driver who crashed into St. Louis Park's Park Tavern Sunday night.
Steven Bailey faces two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and nine counts of criminal vehicular operation in the crash that killed two, including a tavern employee, and injured nine others.
In a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty revealed Bailey, 56, had a blood-alcohol level of .325 when the crash occurred — more than four times the legal limit to drive in Minnesota.
"This did not have to happen," said Moriarty. "In a time where we have more options than ever to ensure a safe ride home, Mr. Bailey made the choice to get behind the wheel of his vehicle while highly intoxicated and dramatically alter the lives of so many people."
The two victims who did not survive their injuries were identified Monday as Kristina Folkerts, a server at Park Tavern, and Gabe Harvey, a health unit coordinator at Methodist Hospital. Moriarty said several of those injured, including an additional number of Methodist employees, are still "struggling with severe injuries."
"They deserved better," Moriarty said, adding, "Nothing can change what happened on Sunday but we can and will hold people accountable when they choose to get behind the wheel while intoxicated and kill and injure people."
The criminal complaint said when officers approached Bailey's vehicle following the crash, they heard him talking on the phone, saying, “I hit the gas instead of the brake and went right through a thing” and “I’m probably going to jail.”
Moriarty says additional charges could be filed against Bailey if more people who were injured in the incident step forward. She added that her office will file what is known as a Blakely Notice, which allows prosecutors to seek more serious penalties than are recommended by state statute.
Court records show Bailey has been convicted of at least five previous drunk driving offenses in his lifetime.
KARE 11 News obtained Bailey's certified driving record summary printed by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety in January 2020. At that time, Bailey was challenging an ignition interlock violation in court.
Those records show Bailey - who has not yet been charged in the fatal St. Louis Park incident - was first convicted of drunk driving in Wisconsin in 1985 when he was just 17 years old. His latest DWI conviction occurred in Hennepin County in June 2014 when Bailey was 46.
Here is a full list of the convictions that appear on Bailey's record.
- 8/8/1985 - DWI conviction Wisconsin (violation 9/21/85) - 17 years old
- 1/19/1993 - DWI conviction Wabasha County (violation 12/20/92) - 24 years old
- 1/29/1998 - DWI conviction Hennepin County (Violation 11/27/97) - 29 years old
- 1/1/2013- DWI conviction Waseca County (Violation 1/26/13 .16 BAC) - 44 years old
- 1/23/2015 - DWI conviction Hennepin County (Violation 6/6/14 .08 BAC) - 46 years old
Minnesota's Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS) division of the Department of Public Safety (DPS) has imposed restrictions on Bailey's license throughout his adult life, according to driving records.
Bailey's license was revoked for months following his first three DWIs and then canceled after his fourth drunk driving arrest in Waseca County in January 2013.
More than a year later, a Plymouth police officer running a random registration check on June 6, 2014, found Bailey was driving on the canceled license. Upon pulling Bailey over, the officer smelled booze and urine and arrested him after a breath test registered a .08 BAC.
Despite being charged with DWI, careless driving and driving after cancellation, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office struck a plea deal with Bailey in January 2015, dropping the driving after cancellation charge.
An ignition interlock device was installed on Bailey's car in Oct. 2014 prior to the plea deal. With that, DVS conditionally reinstated Bailey's driving privileges.
Bailey's driving record remained clean until Sept. 2019 when the ignition interlock - which is a device that requires a driver to blow alcohol-free before allowing the car to start - electronically registered a violation. With that violation, DVS again canceled Bailey's driver's license but he successfully appealed in court, claiming the interlock device in his vehicle was defective.
According to sworn testimony, Bailey had been sober since June 2014, but when he blew into the device it at first registered a concentration of 0.181, then 0.038, then 0.0 just 15 minutes later. The judge agreed the device must have been faulty.
DPS confirms that Bailey's ignition interlock program was in effect between 2014 and 2020. In 2023 he renewed his license and was listed as a valid driver in the state database at the time of Sunday's crash.
Bailey had no additional driving or alcohol-related charges or allegations levied against him until Sunday night. He is currently being held in the Hennepin County Jail and will make his first appearance in court Wednesday afternoon.
Prosecutors will ask for a minimum of $1 million bail.