Man Charged With Criminal Vehicular Homicide In St. Paul Weekend Crash

MINNEAPOLIS WCCO) -- A Twin Cities man is facing felony charges for allegedly drinking and driving in St. Paul over the weekend, speeding through a red light and T-boning another car, killing the driver.

Salvador Juan Battles, 31, of St. Paul, is charged in Ramsey County with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide, one for driving under the influence and one for gross negligence. Both counts carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

According to a criminal complaint, the fatal crash happened around 1:30 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of Marshall and Cretin avenues, in St. Paul's Merriam Park neighborhood.

Battles allegedly told responding officers that the driver of a Chevy Impala hit him. The Impala's driver, a 25-year-old man, was not breathing when medics arrived. He was later pronounced dead at Regions Hospital.

A witness told investigators that he saw Battles' Toyota 4Runner speeding north on Cretin and slam into the driver's side of the Impala. Surveillance video in the area corroborated the witness's story. Investigators reviewing the footage believed Battles was traveling at an extreme rate of speed, although the speed limit at the intersection is 25 mph.

Immediately after the crash, officers found Battles with glossy eyes and smelling of alcohol. He failed a field sobriety test. An analysis of his blood-alcohol level is still pending.

In an interview with police, Battles said that although he was distracted by his dash-mounted GPS, he had a green light at the intersection, the complaint states. He estimated that he going around 30 mph, not "anything outrageous." He admitted he had been drinking, but said he only had one beer.