More than three months after a Minneapolis barista was struck by an SUV that fled the scene, a 19-year-old college student was charged with criminal vehicular operation.
Tyler Braunschweig, a design student enrolled at the University of Minnesota, was allegedly driving on June 27 near 24th Street and Lyndale Avenue S. when he hit Matt Call, who was getting into his car after stopping at Urban Bean Coffee, where he worked.
The impact caused Call to be thrown about 15 feet. He was hospitalized with broken legs, a fractured pelvis and several broken vertebrae.
After the collision, police distributed images of surveillance footage from a neighboring homeowner of a man driving the suspect vehicle, a black Jeep Grand Cherokee with Wisconsin plates.
Call tweeted on Wednesday that he wasn't ready to talk with the news media.
According to the criminal complaint, police received two tips identifying Braunschweig as the driver. They were able to contact a male passenger of the vehicle who said that he told Braunschweig several times after the collision that he should "stop and turn around." Braunschweig allegedly continued driving back to the university.
At the time of the collision, a Jeep Grand Cherokee was registered to Braunschweig's parents' home in Appleton, Wis. Their insurance provider said that a claim was filed on the vehicle July 3 regarding a collision with a deer.
Photos of the vehicle showed substantial damage to the right front of the Jeep. The vehicle, which had been turned over to the insurance company and sold at auction, was recovered by police.
