Man sentenced to 41 months for marijuana-related crash near Eveleth that killed Cathy Johnson, 61
DULUTH, Minn. — A 38-year-old man will spend years in prison in connection to a deadly crash last fall in northern Minnesota.
The St. Louis County Attorney's Office says David Kevin Medicine pleaded guilty in December to criminal vehicular homicide in the death of 61-year-old Cathy Majorie Johnson, who was his passenger in the crash on Oct. 21, 2023.
He was sentenced Monday to 41 months in prison.
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Court documents state Medicine had ingested marijuana before he crashed into another vehicle on Highway 169 in Wuori Township, which is about 15 miles north of Eveleth.
County Attorney Kim Maki says with marijuana use and possession now legal across Minnesota, people need to know the psychoactive drug impairs the ability to drive.
"When a person chooses to operate a motor vehicle after ingesting marijuana, the safety of the community is put at risk," Maki said. "Mr. Medicine's decision to drive on October 21, 2023, resulted in tragic and irreparable consequences."
Maki says Johnson was a "mother and a grandmother who enjoyed life, her grandkids, her garden, and creating in the kitchen."
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