Man who hit, killed pedestrian on Marquette Avenue to serve more than 8 years

MINNEAPOLIS -- A man who killed a pedestrian and severely injured another in a crash on Marquette Avenue last year has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison.

Thomas Hunter, 27, was sentenced on Thursday. He pleaded guilty to criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation in March. He entered a Norgaard plea, in which he acknowledged that there is enough evidence to convict him, even if he doesn't remember committing the crime.

The crash took place on May 24, 2021 and killed 62-year-old Stephan Rice of Burnsville. He died from blunt force and sharp force injuries in the incident.

Investigators said that Hunter was heading north on Marquette Avenue when he ran a red light on 10th Street. He hit a driver going east around 5:30 p.m. The car spun and hit two men who were at the intersection's northeast corner, launching them into a nearby businesses' plate glass window.

Hunter's license was revoked at the time, investigators said.