ST PAUL, Minn. — Editor's note: The video above first aired on KARE 11 in August of 2021.
The southern Minnesota woman accused of striking and killing a 29-year-old nurse while driving impaired struck a deal with prosecutors Thursday, pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide. She went on to face a judge for sentencing Friday morning.
According to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office, Melinda Dotray was sentenced to 48 months in prison with 13 days credit for time already served. Dotray was charged with multiple crimes following the death of Abigail Anderson, but with her guilty plea prosecutors agreed to drop four of five original charges.
Anderson was the little sister of All-American runner Gabe Grunewald, who died in 2019 following a battle with cancer.
Four members of the Anderson family were in court Friday to confront Dotray with emotional victim impact statements about the loss of Abigail.
In the original criminal complaint, prosecutors said Dotray was traveling between 62 and 64 mph in a 40 mph zone when she struck Anderson near the intersection of Cleveland and Larpenteur Avenues in Falcon Heights back on Aug. 14, 2021.
Early results from the investigation also indicated Dotray's pick-up truck struck a parked vehicle on the side of the road before Anderson was hit as she walked in the grass nearby. Investigators also said they did not see evidence of braking before the crash, and that later lab results showed Dotray had amphetamine, methamphetamine and fentanyl in her blood at the time.
After Abigail's death and Dotray's initial arrest, Anderson family attorney Phillip Seiff released a statement saying the family was looking to bring "justice and accountability" to the case.
"Abby's family seeks justice and accountability so that no other family ever has to endure the pain and suffering they have experienced and will experience forever," the statement read.
Anderson worked as a nurse at Children's Minnesota and was also a prominent runner in the track & field/cross country community. Like her sister Gabe, Abigail was one of Minnesota's top high school runners and walked on at the University of Minnesota.
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