Star Tribune
Lake Elmo crash that killed girl, 5, in stalled car tied to driver who had been drinking
The collision on a Lake Elmo highway that killed a 5-year-old girl sitting in her family’s stalled car was caused by an SUV driver who police suspect was under the influence of alcohol at the time, according to newly filed court records.
Morgan Rae Petersen was a passenger in a Ford Focus that was stopped in the left lane of eastbound Hwy. 36 just before 9 p.m. Saturday when it was hit from behind, according to an online fundraising campaign created on behalf of the family.
The SUV’s driver, Jeffrey D. Alexander, 47, of St. Paul, hit the stalled car at “highway speeds” and suffered non-life threatening injuries, the State Patrol said. Alexander was ticketed last spring for a similar offense in St. Paul.
The car’s driver, Christopher S. Petersen, 43, of St. Paul, and his son, 10-year-old Mason Ries, survived their injuries, the patrol said. Petersen’s sister, Nicole Guillette, wrote on the online fundraiser that Morgan “suffered a broken neck and serious brain injuries that were not survivable.”
A state trooper has collected blood samples from Alexander to have them tested for alcohol content and illicit drug use, according to a search warrant affidavit filed Tuesday. Those test results are pending.
Alexander hit the stalled car from behind despite the flashing of the smaller vehicle’s flashing hazard lights, the affidavit read.
A law enforcement officer at the scene reported detecting the odor of alcohol coming from Alexander, who “also admitted to drinking two beers earlier,” the affidavit continued.
Court records in Minnesota show that Alexander has been convicted three times after having his license suspended.
He also was ticketed in May and convicted for following too closely after he hit a vehicle from behind that was stopped for a traffic light in St. Paul at Dale Street and St. Anthony Avenue, according to court records, which did not note any injuries.
Morgan had been wearing a seat belt. Her father and brother were not wearing seat belts and suffered less serious injuries, according to the State Patrol.
Transforming the heart of both downtowns, which have much larger buildings than old warehouses, is going to take a lot more money, creativity and time. Josh Talberg, managing director at downtown Minneapolis brokerage JLL, said with no major apartment buildings on the drawing board in either downtown, the fleet of empty office buildings present a golden opportunity to create more housing and lead both cities in a new direction.
“You can can certainly see the fundamentals improving, and you can feel that vibrancy, and that’s ultimately the foundation that’s needed to get investors to reinvest in the city,” he said. “But it’s not as if these 18-wheelers can turn on a dime.”
The Minnesota Department of Transportation closed part of a state highway Wednesday evening near Austin because of a “major hazardous materials release” in the area.
Hwy. 56 from Hayfield to Waltham, a stretch covering about five miles, was closed in both directions and drivers were directed to follow a detour to Blooming Prairie on U.S. Hwy. 218.
No information on the hazardous materials released was immediately available.
A federal judge dismissed a civil lawsuit against Minnesota state trooper Ryan Londregan in the shooting death of Ricky Cobb II during a 2023 traffic stop.
The decision is the latest development in a case that has drawn heated debate over excessive use of force by law enforcement. Criminal charges against Londregan were dismissed by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in June, saying the prosecution didn’t have the evidence to proceed with a case.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel granted Londregan’s motion to dismiss the civil suit, arguing he acted reasonably when he opened fire as Cobb’s vehicle lurched forward with another state trooper partly inside.
Londregan’s attorney Chris Madelsaid Wednesday that it’s been a “long, grueling journey to justice. Ryan Londregan has finally arrived.”
On July 31, 2023, the two troopers pulled over Cobb, 33, on Interstate 94 in north Minneapolis for driving without taillights and later learned he was wanted for violating a felony domestic no-contact order. Cobb refused commands to exit the car.
With Seide partly inside the car while trying to unbuckle Cobb’s seatbelt, the car moved forward. Londregan then opened fire, hitting Cobb twice.
In her decision, Brasel said the troopers were mandated by state law to make an arrest given Cobb’s domestic no-contact order violation. She said it was objectively reasonable for Londregan to believe Seide was in immediate danger as the car moved forward on a busy highway, which would make his use of force reasonable.
