BURNSVILLE, Minn. — A 21-year-old man is facing two felony charges in connection to a car crash in Burnsville that killed a Lakeville high school student and injured another teenager girl.
Alejandro Jesus Saavedra, of Farmington, was charged with criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation resulting in great bodily harm in Dakota County on April 12 in connection to the April 9 crash.
Over the weekend, Burnsville Police said they responded to a noise complaint at the Best Western Premier hotel on the 14200 block of Nicollet Avenue South early Saturday morning.
According to a criminal complaint, the responding officer saw a man and two girls running through the hotel parking lot before getting into a white Lexus and speeding away.
The officer followed the Lexus and watched the driver speed through red lights without slowing down, and saw the car hit a curb and lose a tire as it turned on to Grand Avenue, before losing sight of the car, the complaint said.
Officers eventually found the car crashed onto the south side of a USPS parking ramp. Saavedra was found pinned to the driver's seat, and the two girls were found unconscious in the backseat, according to the documents.
One of those girls, identified as 16-year-old Sydney Kohner, was pronounced dead at the scene. Lakeville Area Schools confirmed to KARE 11 Monday that Kohner was a sophomore at Lakeville North High School.
The other teenager, 15-year-old Carmen Braun, was intubated at Hennepin County Medical Center, where she's being treated for multiple serious injuries, including a fractured vertebrae and bleeding and swelling in her brain, according to the complaint.
Saavedra was taken to the hospital after being extracted from the car, and officers obtained a search warrant to get a blood sample. The complaint said Saavedra told paramedics he had used drugs and alcohol prior to driving. After being released from the hospital, Saavedra was taken to the Dakota County Jail, where he's currently being held on bail.
In an interview with investigators on Monday, April 11, Saavedra confirmed to officers that he was driving the white Lexus when it crashed, and that he bought alcohol for a party in the Best Western hotel room, the complaint said.
Saavedra has a criminal history that extends into his juvenile years. A DWI at age 17, a car theft, drug offenses, and fleeing from police. Now his felony charges could put him in prison for up to 10 years.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety confirmed to KARE 11 that Saavrdra did have a valid driver's license at the time of the crash.
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