Minneapolis Personal Injury Blog

On August 16, 2009, Timothy Allen Rausch of Cushing, Minnesota swerved over the centerline of County Road 17, near Ople, Minnesota, and crashed into a car driven by Ryan DeZurik, a recent graduate of St. Cloud Christian School and a current student at Rasmussen College. Mr. DeZurik was pronounced at the scene of the car accident.

A preliminary breath test that police officers took of Mr. Rausch showed that he had a blood alcohol concentration of .346, which is more than four times the legal limit of .08. Mr. Rausch explained to police he was trying to avoid a deer in the road at the time he smashed into Mr. DeZurik’s car.

The Stearns County Attorney’s Office is waiting for the results of blood tests to determine whether to charge Mr. Rausch with Criminal Vehicular Homicide.

Keith Heimer, 56, of Golden Valley, Minnesota was killed on June 22, 2009, in an one-car accident near Squaw Lake in Itasca County. Keith Heimer was a passenger in a car driving by Mark Heimer of White Bear Lake, Minnesota at which time their vehicle crossed over the northbound lane of Highway 46, landed in a ditch and struck trees. Both Mark Heimer and another passenger, Rhett Witschen of Eagan, Minnesota were treated for injuries, including cuts and bruises. The Minnesota State Patrol investigated this one car collision and reported that the cause of the car crash was the driver falling asleep.

An increasing amount of scientific research concludes that drivers who use cellphones while operating their cars are four times as likely to be in a car accidents then other drivers. This increased risk of being in a car collision is similar to when an automobile driver has a blood alcohol concentration of over.08, which is considered intoxicated in Minnesota. One of the surprising research results is that hands free devices might actually increase the risk of accidents because of the false suggestion that this behavior is safer.

Since there seems to be a wide recognition among drivers that use of cell phones, navigation devices, and computer laptops make it more likely that a driver could be involved in a car collision, then if raises the question as to why drivers willingly put themselves at increased harm? Researchers indicate that social pressure of staying in touch with friends and business colleagues outweighs the concern of being in an accident. Furthermore, scientific research suggests that cellphone use results in a neurological response of an adrenaline rush that cannot be reached from basic driving.

In 2008, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published a study that during daylight hours in 2007, there is an estimated 1.9 million drivers actively using cell phones.

On July 24, 2009, Minneapolis car dealer, Denny Hecker, plead guilty in Hennepin County District Court to Careless Driving. The factual basis of the plea negotiation was that Mr. Hecker was texting on his cellular telephone and was not watching the road when he lost control of his vehicle and caused a one-car accident. Mr. Hecker’s criminal defense lawyer claimed that the car accident was not caused by the effect of Mr. Hecker’s six prescription drugs found in his blood system when he was injured in the December 3, 2008, collision in Plymouth, Minnesota. Nevertheless, Mr. Hecker was order to serve a sentence similar other first time DWI offenders in Hennepin County.