ORONO, Minn. — Orono's police chief has identified a young man who died in the crash that also killed the son of U of M men's hockey coach Bob Motzko.
Chief Correy Farniok says 24-year-old Samuel Schuneman was in the passenger seat of a vehicle that crashed at high speed into a grove of trees late Saturday night on the 3100 block of North Shore Drive. Schuneman died on the scene, while 20-year-old Mack Motzko succumbed to his injuries after being transported to the hospital.
Reports released Monday afternoon by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office show both men died of blunt force injuries.
Farniok said the driver is 51-year-old man from Orono. The chief says it appears that both alcohol and speed are factors in the crash, which took place just before 11:30 p.m. Investigators report that the driver was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle, while both Motzko and Schuneman were belted in.
KARE 11's Lou Raguse reports that a friend of Schuneman's told him they were having drinks at Maynard's on Lake Minnetonka when the driver invited a small group to his home for a party. The friend says the man wanted to show his new car to Motzko and Schuneman, and that they did not know the three men had actually gone for a drive.
When they heard sirens, the friend told Raguse, they realized something had happened.
The investigation into the crash continues, with Orono police being assisted by the State Patrol and Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.