BURNSVILLE, MN — The driver of the Burnsville crash that killed 16-year-old Sydney Kohner of Rosemount has been arrested and charged with criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation resulting in great bodily harm, according to a criminal complaint filed in the Dakota County Attorney’s Office.
Alejandro Jesus Saavedra, 21 of Farmington, is in custody at Dakota County Jail and faces 10 years in prison for the first charge and five for the second, officials said.
He was severely injured in the crash, along with a 15-year-old passenger, police said.
Around 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, the Burnsville Police Department said it was investigating a noise complaint from Best Western Premier Nicollet Inn. A man and two teens were seen running through the parking lot, according to police.
An officer saw a driver of a Lexus trying to lean down in his seat to avoid being seen, authorities said. The officer went to go park when the driver of the Lexus sped off, and the officer followed, police said.
The driver of the Lexus turned westbound on Fairview Drive without slowing down for the intersection, according to officials. At the intersection of Fairview Drive and Nicollet Avenue, the driver sped through a red light and took a sharp turn onto Grand Avenue, hitting at least one curb, police said.
The officer saw a wheel dislodge from the car and roll into the roadway, according to authorities. The officer then lost track of the Lexus due to its increasing speed, police said.
Police then found the Lexus off of the roadway south of a USPS parking ramp, officials said. The engine compartment and the engine block were crushed and crumpled, authorities said. The engine block appeared to be split in half, according to police.
Investigators determined that the car had probably missed a turn and driven off the roadway, into a pillar of the parking ramp, according to officials.
Saavedra was found pinned in the driver’s seat, conscious and alert, police said. Two teenage girls appeared to be unconscious in the back seat, according to officials.
The first girl, 15, was taken out of the car and transported to Hennepin County Medical Center where she was intubated, officials said. Her injuries include a fractured vertebrae, fractured femur, fractured tibia and fibula and pronounced swelling and bleeding in her brain, according to police.
Kohner was taken out of the car but was pronounced dead at the scene due to the severity of her injuries, authorities said.
Saavedra was taken out of the driver’s seat and officials said he smelled strongly of alcohol. He told police he used alcohol and marijuana before driving, according to authorities.
At HCMC, officials took a blood sample from Saavedra for testing, police said.
After getting a search warrant, officers learned that Saavedra was the registered guest of two hotel rooms where the noise complaint came from, according to officials. Police said they found alcohol, drugs and drug paraphernalia in the rooms.
The officer who saw the three people running through the parking lot confirmed that they were the same people involved in the crash, according to officials.
On Monday, investigators from the Burnsville Police Department interviewed Saavedra and he confirmed that he was the driver of the white Lexus, police said. Saavedra said he bought alcohol for the party in the hotel rooms and that he used alcohol and cocaine at the hotel, officials said.
Saavedra told investigators that he saw police cars in the hotel parking lot and tried to avoid police by leaving the hotel, according to officials.
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