A Farmington man who crashed his van on Cedar Avenue in Apple Valley, causing an SUV to crash and kill a man in that vehicle, has been charged with a misdemeanor.

Salomon Adorno, 32, is charged with careless driving in connection with the death of Inocencio Munoz-Gutierrez, 26.

Dakota County Attorney Jim Backstrom said Adorno was not drinking or taking drugs at the time of the crash on Dec. 2. Without that type of gross negligence, a charge of criminal vehicular homicide could not be proven.

"This appears to be another tragic example of distracted driving that has claimed a life on our state's roads," Backstrom said.

According to the charging documents, Adorno was driving south on Cedar Avenue near McAndrews Road about 5:50 p.m., when he lost control of his van. He swerved slightly right, then overcorrected to the left. His vehicle hit a guardrail at McAndrews, flew into the air and landed on its side in the left lane of northbound Cedar. That's when the SUV struck the van.

The SUV driver told police that he couldn't stop before colliding with Adorno's van.

Adorno and three other people in the other vehicle were slightly hurt.

Adorno is expected to make his first court appearance in three or four weeks. He has been convicted three times, in 2008 and 2009, for driving without a valid license, according to state court records.

Pat Pheifer