Minnesota man was "jamming out" when he fatally struck pedestrian in Moose Lake, charges state
MOOSE LAKE, Minn. — A 21-year-old man says he had been "jamming out" when he hit and killed a pedestrian in Moose Lake last Thursday, according to charges filed in Carlton County.
Brent Keranen, of Pengilly, was charged Friday with one count of criminal vehicular manslaughter after he allegedly hit a pedestrian walking along the shoulder of Highway 73 near Jon Brown Drive on shortly after 2 p.m.
Charges allege that Keranen had been driving his vehicle in the northbound lane of Highway 73 when he left his lane, veered right and fatally struck the pedestrian.
Keranen allegedly told police he had been listening to the radio when a good song came on, prompting him to play "air guitar," when his vehicle's airbags suddenly deployed, according to court documents. He said he did not know he had hit someone.
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Charges say Keranen later claimed that he was "looking down and jamming out a bit and next thing you know, I hit somebody."
Law enforcement had Keranen perform field sobriety tests and a roadside breath test showed he had an alcohol concentration of .06, which is below the legal limit of .08. A blood sample was later taken from Keranen for further testing. Keranen said he had been up late drinking alcohol with friends the evening prior.
Keranen told police he had been working in the metro area and was returning home for the day at the time of the incident. He said he had been working a lot of hours and was tired — he even fell asleep while driving a few hours earlier and struck a state trooper's squad car, charges state. He claimed that after hitting the squad he had a preliminary breath test of .066. He received a citation for the incident.
Additionally, Keranen allegedly made a statement saying he had set his cruise control to 52 mph while the posted speed limit was 40 mph.
If convicted, Keranen faces up to 10 years in prison.