NASHWAUK, Minn. — A Grand Rapids woman is charged with criminal vehicular homicide after she allegedly struck and killed a pedestrian while driving on a northern Minnesota highway in early July.
Cynthia Arlene Martin, 64, told officials she was driving to her Grand Rapids home from Mountain Iron at around 11:15 p.m. on July 3 when she hit something in the left lane of Highway 169 near Nashwauk. Martin told police she believed she hit an owl or a turkey, so she kept driving. She called 911 just before 6 a.m. on July 4 saying she had been involved in an accident near Nashwauk.
Officials say they were called to the scene just after 11:15 p.m. after another driver reported seeing a person lying in the road. The driver told authorities that they had to swerve to avoid hitting the person before they pulled over and called 911. While waiting for law enforcement, court documents show that another vehicle ran over the person while trying to avoid the pulled-over vehicle.
Multiple witnesses and surveillance video showed the victim at a street dance in Nashwauk earlier that night before they started to walk home. One witness said they saw someone wearing all dark clothing in the middle of the highway around the time the collision occurred. A post-mortem toxicology showed the victim had a .054 blood alcohol content and THC in their system. State patrol identified the victim as 19-year-old Carter John Haithcock of Goodland.
Prosecutors say that the driver switched lanes to avoid hitting the caller's vehicle, which was parked on the side of the road with its hazard lights on.
According to court documents, investigators were able to identify Martin's vehicle based on a piece of the vehicle that was found in the debris field. Surveillance video from several locations also provided a timeline that was consistent with what Martin told officials.
