Carver County man charged with fatally running over girlfriend with pickup

A 42-year-old Watertown man who allegedly ran over his girlfriend with his pickup truck this week was charged with criminal vehicular homicide Friday in Carver County District Court.

Just before 7 p.m. Tuesday, a neighbor was driving down Deerfield Road when he spotted the body of Jessica Ludenia, 33, on the side of the road.

Nearby, Casey Belden Hoskins was standing next to his truck and told the neighbor "she went under my truck."

While several neighbors tended to Ludenia, Hoskins moved his truck to the driveway of the home they shared.

They told authorities that Hoskins was acting "strange" and wasn't trying to get her help, according to the criminal complaint.

When a Watertown Fire Department captain got to the scene, he "could sense" Hoskins was intoxicated and saw an open beer bottle in his pocket.

Ludenia was taken to a hospital in Waconia and later pronounced dead.

When they got home, the daughter and her mother started walking toward the house. The daughter heard Hoskins' truck start up as his son sat in the back seat.

The daughter said her mother ran after the pickup and jumped into the bed, according to the criminal complaint.

Hoskins was accelerating down the street and braked three times, the daughter said. She told authorities it seemed as if the suspect was trying to get her mother "to go off the truck," according to the criminal complaint.

Hoskins told authorities that the couple had gotten into an argument and that she didn't want him to leave. As he started to leave, Ludenia jumped into the passenger's seat of his truck and while he was driving, she opened the passenger's door and jumped out of the truck, he said.

Ludenia's daughter ran toward the area and saw her mother being moved onto the grass, where she was lying face down, according to the criminal complaint.

Hoskins' bail was set at $1 million. He'll next appear in court on Wednesday.

Karen Zamora • 612-673-4647