A Twin Cities man with a relentless habit of driving drunk has been charged with being high on illicit drugs when he triggered a four-vehicle crash in southern Dakota County that caused serious injury last fall.
Marshall A. Knoll, 59, of Rosemount, was charged in District Court with criminal vehicular operation, drunken driving and driving after having his license taken away in connection with the wreck on Oct. 20, 2017. Knoll appeared in court late last week and remains jailed in lieu of $150,000 bail with conditions.
Knoll has 17 convictions for drunken driving dating to 1979, according to the County Attorney's Office.
At the time of the crash last fall, he was behind the wheel after the state canceled his driving privileges.
Knoll's attorney, Patricia Phill, on Monday said, "This case is winding its way through the court system," but had no further comment.
According to the charges in the latest allegation:
Witnesses saw a truck pulling a trailer on northbound Hwy. 52 that was traveling erratically and speeding. Traffic stopped, but Knoll's truck did not, and his vehicle rear-ended another at 50 miles per hour.
An occupant in the vehicle that Knoll struck suffered a broken sternum and fractured ribs, a broken arm and bleeding on the brain. Another person in the same vehicle required surgery to his spine.