A drunk driver allegedly crashed into an elderly woman’s car, killing her, while trying to race his wife home from a Minnesota bar, according to police.
Aloysius Kenneth Johnson, who has a previous conviction for DUI, told police he’d had several vodka sodas with his wife at a bar in Andover on Friday when he got behind the wheel of his Ford F-350, according to a criminal complaint obtained by KARE 11.
His wife told cops she thinks he was “trying to beat her home” when he sped off — with his car soon found crashed into a Kia Soul.
The other driver, Alice Marie Stack, 74, was pulled from the wreckage but died later at a hospital, according to the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office.
The Ford driver fled the crash scene, with witnesses saying they saw him stumbling as he ran off toward some woods.
When sheriff’s deputies soon found Johnson, 48, walking nearby, he smelled of alcohol, slurred his words, struggled to keep balance and had blood on his body and face, according to the complaint.
Johnson allegedly admitted to having three or four drinks — but said he had no memory of the crash, according to the report.
Johnson’s wife soon arrived at the crash scene and confirmed that the Ford truck belonged to her husband.
She told police they had been eating at a bar where Johnson was drinking vodka sodas, and that she tried to get him to let her drive him home, according to the report.
But he instead on following her in his truck, she said, saying he then sped off in a different direction to try to beat her home, according to the complaint.
Johnson has a previous conviction for DUI, KARE reported, without giving details on that crime.
He was charged Monday with one count of criminal vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol.
His bail was set at $400,000 without conditions — or $200,000 with them — with his next court date set for June 23, KSTP said.
