Charges: Vodka-swigging speeder on a death wish killed Bloomington plow worker

An SUV driver on a death wish swigged vodka from a bottle and went on an erratic and intoxicated speeding frenzy before hitting a city snowplow in Bloomington, killing one of two city employees on duty, according to charges.

Marie J. Hall, 24, of Richfield, was charged Wednesday in Hennepin County District with third-degree murder, criminal-vehicular homicide and criminal-vehicular operation in connection with the collision Jan. 28 on American Boulevard near 5th Avenue S.

Suffering fatal head injuries in the wreck was Tyler J. Lenort, 38, of Lakeville, who was climbing into the truck just as Hall's SUV came barreling in, the criminal complaint read. Lenort died over the weekend at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC).

Lenort's co-worker, Daryl Bittmann, 56, of Minneapolis, was also in the truck and survived the crash. He was taken to HCMC and was expected to survive head and other injuries that he suffered while the SUV pushed the truck 30-40 feet.

The truck was pulled over in the eastbound lanes assisting with snow removal, police said. The vehicle carried a large, lighted arrow directing traffic to move over a lane, said Bloomington Police Chief Jeff Potts.

Hall, who was pulled from the burning SUV by emergency responders, was charged by warrant and remains hospitalized for what the charges called "a mental health hold."

Mary Hall, the defendant's grandmother, would only say Thursday that "our family is devastated."

Mary Hall, the defendant's grandmother, would only say Thursday that "our family is devastated."

A murder charge for a crash resulting in death is unusual. The most serious charge is typically criminal-vehicular homicide, depending on alcohol use by the driver and other factors.

The more serious murder count was filed in this case because what Hall is alleged to have done "was really egregious," said Chuck Laszewski, spokesman for the county attorney's office. "She had no regard for anyone, running red lights and going 80 miles per hour."

Chief Potts said, "Any one of the three factors -- excessive speed, alcohol and a depraved mind -- are extremely dangerous in their own right when operating a motor vehicle. When you combine all three, the end result is very likely going to be death or serious injury to the driver or the general public who happen to be in their path."

According to the criminal complaint:

Lenort was on a smaller vehicle brushing snow from the sidewalk and was climbing into the passenger seat after he finished. It was then that Hall's SUV rammed the truck from behind "at a high rate of speed."

Moments earlier, officers determined, Hall went into her former place of employment, grabbed two bottles of vodka and tossed cash in the air before walking out. She got in her SUV and was racing through streets and running red lights before hitting the stationary city truck, spinning the larger vehicle 180 degrees.

Officers pulled Hall from the SUV and detected a strong odor of alcohol from her.

At the hospital, she told authorities that "she was distraught over events in her life."

Hall said she got in her car with the two bottles of vodka, opened one of them and downed the equivalent of four to five shots. Authorities took a blood sample from Hall and were awaiting results of a blood-alcohol test.