Charges: Buffalo High teen killed by wrong-way driver

Todd Lifto was charged with criminal vehicular homicide with DWI charges possible, the Wright County attorney said, in the death of Buffalo High senior Jonathon Kramnic.

By VINCE TUSS, Star Tribune

Last update: November 25, 2009 - 9:29 PM

A St. Michael man was driving in the wrong lane with no headlights and speeding before a crash that killed a 17-year-old Buffalo High student, the Wright County attorney said.

Todd Albert Lifto, 44, was charged Wednesday with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide in the death of Jonathon Kramnic, said Tom Kelly, the county attorney.

One of the counts is based on Lifto's use of alcohol before the crash, Kelly said. But authorities are waiting for test results before filing any drunken-driving charge against Lifto, who was arrested in 2005 and in September 2009 on suspicion of drunken driving.

"I've had some 25, 26 years in the Wright County attorney's office, and they don't get any sadder than this case," Kelly said.

"It seems like each day we find out a little bit more about this," said Adam Hoglund, Kramnic's uncle. "It's hard not to be incredibly angry."

The crash happened about 6:25 p.m. Saturday on County Road 35, near Jamison Avenue in St. Michael.

Kramnic, who lived in Brooklyn Center with his father, was going to see friends and driving west in a 1998 Toyota Camry. He was hit head-on by Lifto, who was headed east in a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado pickup, the Wright County Sheriff's Office said.

But Lifto was driving in the westbound lane, without his headlights on and "driving in excess of the speed limit," Kelly said.

Kramnic was airlifted to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, where he died Sunday.

A number of people also were driving west behind Kramnic at the time, Kelly added, and helped in the investigation, giving authorities confidence in their case.

Lifto was first taken to Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, but on Wednesday he was at Hennepin County Medical Center in satisfactory condition. When Lifto is released from the hospital, he will be taken into custody so bail and a court date can be set, Kelly said.

Kelly also soon expects to file a gross misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence related to Lifto's drunken-driving arrest on Sept. 28 in St. Michael. The county attorney hopes that the two cases can proceed through Wright County District Court at the same time.

In 2005, Lifto was charged in Wright County with multiple counts of gross misdemeanor criminal vehicular operation and third-degree driving while impaired following a hit-and-run crash that left another man with a minor head cut. Lifto's blood-alcohol level after that crash was 0.24 percent, according to court records.

He was convicted of criminal vehicular operation causing bodily harm with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or more. He was sentenced to 30 days in the Wright County jail, plus probation.

Kramnic's family is anticipating the next day in court. "We'll be there every step of the way to see he gets what's coming to him," Hoglund said.

The family is waiting until after Thanksgiving to hold services, Hoaglund said. Kramnic is survived by his father, Jon; his mother, Lisa Hoglund, sisters McKenzie and Alli, a brother, Jason, and grandparents Virginia Kramnic and Susan and Thomas Hoglund.

Visitation is set for 4 p.m. Monday at the Church of St. Michael, 11300 Frankfort Parkway NE. People will have a chance to speak from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., Adam Hoglund said. The funeral is set for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the church.

Vince Tuss • 612-673-7692

Recent West Metro stories

West metro town briefs - November 25, 2009

West metro town briefs - Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners' 2009 Sleep Out fundraiser received donations totaling $1.41 million, up from last year's total of $1.34 million, the Wayzata-based nonprofit says. More