Star Tribune
St. Louis Park man charged in crash that killed Plymouth woman
A St. Louis Park man was charged Tuesday in a three-vehicle fatal crash in Plymouth, where charges say he sped through a red light late last summer and rammed into a woman’s SUV, killing her.
David Andrew Boll, 49, faces one count of criminal vehicular homicide in Hennepin County District Court for the crash Sept. 12. He now has a warrant for his arrest. The woman killed was Catherine Caron, 68, of Plymouth.
Boll was driving south on Hwy. 55 in Plymouth and went through a red light at the intersection with Industrial Park Boulevard, charges say. Caron, driving a Honda Pilot, went through the intersection on a green light while headed east on Industrial Park Boulevard. The crash happened around 2:20 p.m.
The front of Caron’s SUV initially hit the rear corner of a trailer being pulled by a pickup truck that also ran the red light before she continued driving and Boll’s Camry hit her SUV on the driver’s side, the charges say. Caron was pronounced dead at the scene.
The charges do not name the pickup truck driver.
Boll was driving at least 71 mph in a 55 mph zone and entered the intersection going straight through the right-turn lane of Hwy. 55 when he struck Caron, according to the criminal complaint.
Boll told police he was trying to get in front of Caron’s SUV when the crashed happened, the complaint states.
While getting tested for intoxicated driving, Boll allegedly showed signs of impairment, and blood tests found he had THC in his system. Charges say he admitted to using marijuana about an hour before the crash. He passed out during a drug-recognition evaluation and he was taken to HCMC for evaluation, charges say.
He was booked into jail but was released before charges were filed and is now wanted. The complaint says Boll poses a safety risk to the community. He was on probation for an assault conviction from 2019 when he hit his sister with a skateboard. Records show he has three convictions since 2012 for driving with a suspended license.
Rain and potentially heavy snow are on tap Thursday around the Twin Cities, just before families set out for Halloween trick-or-treating.
Temperatures were expected to drop throughout the day, creating conditions for flurries. A winter weather advisory is in effect from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. covering the Twin Cities metro area and parts of south-central Minnesota. Steady rain drenched the Twin Cities on Thursday, making for a soggy morning commute.
“As colder air begins to move in this morning, the rain will transition to heavy snow from west to east with snowfall rates of an inch per hour at times into early afternoon,” the National Weather Service in Chanhassen said in a weather advisory.
The Twin Cities and surrounding areas could get between 2 and 4 inches of snow, according to the weather service. The winter weather advisory is expected to affect Anoka, Chisago, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, Washington and Le Sueur counties.
It’s unclear how much of the snow will actually stick, with warm surface temperatures likely leading to melting on contact in many areas.
“Exact totals will depend on snowfall rate, surface temperatures, and melting — which increases uncertainty with the snow forecast,” the weather service said in an early Thursday briefing.
“Thundersnow possible!” the weather service emphasized.
The good news for Halloween revelers is that the snow and rain are expected to wrap up in time for trick-or-treating, though temperatures will remain in the 30s with a sharp windchill.
An off-duty Washington County sheriff’s deputy caused a head-on crash while under the influence of alcohol and injured a couple in the other vehicle, officials said.
The crash occurred about 10:40 a.m. Sunday in Afton on Hwy. 95 at Scenic Lane, the Minnesota State Patrol said.
Campbell Johnston Blair, 58, of Hastings, was heading north in his Subaru Crosstrek, crossed into the opposite lane and collided with a southbound Ford Expedition, the patrol said.
Blair and the other vehicle’s occupants, 38-year-old Erik Robert Sward and 36-year-old Heather Lynn Sward, both of Lake Elmo, were taken to Regions Hospital with non-critical injuries, according to the patrol.
The patrol noted the alcohol use by Blair was involved in the crash.
Blair, who was driving a private vehicle at the time of the crash while off-duty, has been a deputy with the Sheriff’s Office since 2020 and is currently assigned to our Court Security Unit.
The Sheriff’s Office has been asked for reaction to the crash involving one of its deputies.
ST. CLOUD – On Tuesday, St. Cloud voters will be asked to make decisions on a new fire station and moving city elections to odd years, and — for those who live in Stearns County — how to fund a new county jail.
Here’s a look at the three referendum questions that are on St. Cloud-area ballots this year.
Ballot question: “Shall Stearns County be authorized to impose a sales tax & use tax of three-eighths of one percent to finance up to $325 million, plus associated bonding costs, for the construction of a justice center facility, consisting of law enforcement, judicial center and jail? The sales tax would be used solely to finance construction, upgrades and financing costs for the justice center and remain in effect for 30 years or until the project is paid for, whichever comes first. These services and facilities are mandated by the state of Minnesota to be provided by counties.”
Stearns County officials are planning to build a new $325 million justice center complex that includes a 270-bed jail, a judicial center with courtrooms, and a law enforcement center that houses the Sheriff’s Office. In the summer, Stearns County board members voted to move those facilities out of downtown and to a new location with more space. That site has yet to be determined.
The question before voters is how to fund that center.
County Administrator Mike Williams said a common misconception he’s heard at recent town halls is residents think voting “yes” gives permission to the county to build the facility, and if they vote “no,” the county won’t spend the money to build it.
“People [think they] are voting on the project — and they’re not. They’re voting on how we are going to fund it,” Williams said.
If voters approve the ballot question, the county will impose a sales tax to fund the project. If they vote it down, the county can instead pay for the project with property taxes.