Admitted Gang Member Found Guilty Of Fatal Mpls. Crash
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- An Apple Valley man was found guilty Friday of driving drunk and killing another motorist in downtown Minneapolis in June.
The Hennepin County Attorney's office says Israel Delos Santos, 30, is expected to be sentenced to a decade in prison for the fatal crash on June 1.
The criminal complaint says Santos's blood-alcohol level was about three-times the legal limit when he ran a red light at the intersection of Park Avenue and 15th Street East –- slamming into Krista Sandstrom's car.
The airbag module on Santos's car registered him traveling 71 miles an hour when he hit Sandstrom, 47, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Santos and his passenger then fled their vehicle, and a witnesses said the passenger threw a liquor bottle into some bushes as they ran away.
Both men were soon captured by officers, who said Santos threatened them, saying he was a member of an infamous gang. He also tried to headbutt a firefighter during the arrest.
The county attorney's office says Santos stuck a plea deal, dropping two counts of criminal vehicular homicide. His lawyer told the court that Santos was so drunk that he didn't remember the incident.
His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 14.