Charges: Driver drunk, going 120 mph when his airborne car crashed, killing 2 friends

A southern Minnesota man was drunk and driving 120 miles per hour when he sent his car airborne into two utility poles and a tree, killing two of his friends on a county road south of Austin, according to charges filed Tuesday.

Jason D. Fredrickson, 44, of Elkton, was charged in Mower County District Court with six counts of criminal vehicular homicide in the deaths of Jake Moe, 32, and Luke Unverzagt, 32, both of Austin, Minn., nearly a year ago.

A State Patrol reconstruction of the crash estimated that Fredrickson's Cadillac STS was going 120 miles per hour on Feb. 25, 2012, when it went into a ditch and was airborne as it knocked over a utility pole then hit a tree and another utility pole, according to the criminal complaint.

Fredrickson's blood alcohol content was measured at 0.126 percent about 40 minutes after the crash, the complaint continued. That's above the legal limit for driving in Minnesota.

According to the complaint:

Fredrickson and his friends had been drinking for many hours that evening, first at the Unverzagt home, then at a nearby bar before returning to the home and continuing to drink. Fredrickson had at least six to eight mixed drinks over the course of the night.

While in the Unverzagt garage upon their return to the home, Fredrickson said he was going to give Moe a ride into town.

"I know, I'm just kidding," he responded.

But Sara Unverzagt saw the Cadillac leaving with its headlights off. She and Meagan Moe texted and called their husbands but failed to reach them.

A few minutes later, at about 1:50 a.m., a passer-by and then law enforcement discovered the damage and the wreckage.

The crash threw Luke Unverzagt and Jake Moe from the vehicle. Fredrickson was partly ejected from behind the steering wheel and suffered a broken ankle.