Star Tribune
No prison for driver who fled after fatally hitting man who ran into W. Broadway
A driver who hit and killed a man who ran into a busy Minneapolis street has been spared prison and was sentenced on the lesser of two charges.
Camoreay L. Prowell, 38, of St. Paul, was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty in Hennepin County District Court to failing to stop for a traffic collision in connection with the death of Wilson G. Chinchilla, 26, of Minneapolis, on Oct. 19, 2022, on West Broadway near N. Logan Avenue.
Judge Hilary Caligiuri set aside a 13-month term and placed Prowell on probation for three years. He has about 3½ weeks left to serve in jail. As called for in the plea agreement, the more serious charge of criminal vehicular homicide was dismissed.
When asked about dropping the higher charge, the County Attorney’s Office said in a statement, “This office weighs the specific facts of each case to determine the appropriate resolution. In this instance, the charge for which Mr. Prowell was sentenced [Thursday] is correct and appropriate.”
The complaint said that Prowell was driving at the time after his license had been canceled. Court records in Minnesota revealed he’s been convicted three times for drunken driving and at least twice for driving after his license had been revoked.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police found Chinchilla’s body in the left lane of westbound West Broadway. Video surveillance showed that he ran out of a nearby home moments earlier toward the street.
Witnesses told police that a speeding SUV hit Chinchilla, slowed briefly as it continued west, then made a U-turn and returned to the scene of the crash. Prowell stopped, looked at the body and left.
We at the Minnesota Star Tribune are committed to continually enhancing our digital products and experience. Earlier this year, we rebooted and upgraded the Minnesota Star Tribune’s website and apps to create a cleaner, crisper, modern platform that we’ll continue to build upon. And today, we’re reaching out to let you know about another upcoming enhancement that will impact anyone who visits startribune.com or our mobile apps.
Starting Friday, Oct. 25, we are making changes to our login and subscription management system. These changes will require you to log back into your Minnesota Star Tribune account on startribune.com and to our apps when login goes live there early next week. We’re sorry for the small inconvenience – but it will be worth it.
Why are we doing this? We are moving subscription management for our digital subscribers to a modern subscription management platform. This platform will level up your subscription management experience, allowing us to serve you in ways that were not possible with our legacy system.
Enhancements you will notice include a modern payment infrastructure and subscription management, including the ability to easily make changes to your subscription right in the platform. You will also see a simplified login flow using your email address (no need to remember a separate username).
If you are a subscriber, or if you have logged into the site over the past two years, you should have already received communication about this via email, and we encourage you read those communications to ensure you are prepared for this change. In addition, you will see messaging on our website and apps notifying you of this coming change.
If you encounter any issues, you can find more information about our updates here.
In addition, we will be rolling out new ways to log in to your account, starting with Google, on Friday.
This upgrade also lays the foundation for greater personalization and content customization for a more robust digital experience in the future.
ROCHESTER – The biggest venue here will technically have new operators in 2025, though there likely won’t be staff changes.
Experience Rochester has switched operating companies, ending a contract with venue specialists ASM Global and expanding a contract with its food and beverage vendor Oak View Group. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) revealed Friday that 146 workers would be affected by the switch.
ASM Global notified DEED officials last month that it planned to lay off its staff running the Civic Center. Experience Rochester said in a statement Friday that Oak View Group plans to rehire and retain all employees once it takes over operations in January, “ensuring continuity and a seamless transition for our staff and our guests.”
The Mayo Civic Center has been a Rochester fixture since 1939, though it’s expanded over the years. It boasts almost 200,000 square feet of space, can seat up to 7,200 people in its arena and claims to be the largest event facility in southern Minnesota.
A head-on crash of pickup trucks on the Iron Range in northern Minnesota killed both drivers, officials said.
The collision occurred about 8:50 a.m. Thursday just west of Britt in the 9100 block of Biss Road, the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office said.
Frank Bertram Ratliff, 76, Angora, Minn., was driving east on Biss and appeared to have drifted onto the shoulder to the right, overcorrected and struck a westbound pickup being driven by Steven Craig Shoden 69, of Virginia, Minn., the Sheriff’s Office said.
Emergency responders declared both men dead at the scene.
