A driver was drunk on Fireball whiskey when he slammed into a Starbucks in Eagan after dark, seriously injuring two people sitting at a patio table, according to charges filed Wednesday.
Ihar Daniliuk, 44, of Eagan, was charged in Dakota County District Court with two counts of criminal vehicular operation in connection with the crash shortly after 9 p.m. Monday at the coffee shop in the 1400 block of Central Park Commons Drive. Daniliuk remains jailed in lieu of $25,000 bail ahead of a Sept. 18 court hearing.
Stanton M. Baldwin, 29, of West St. Paul, suffered a broken leg, three broken ribs, a spinal fracture, internal bleeding and a dislocated hip. The other victim, Macy L. Olson, 30, of Eagan, suffered a broken leg and had cuts to her face closed with stitches, the complaint continued.
According to the charges:
Speaking to police while at the hospital, Olson said she saw Daniliuk trying to park at a nearby grocery store, but the SUV "suddenly jumped the curb and drove straight towards" where she and Baldwin were sitting, the complaint read.
The next thing she remembered was waking up inside the coffee shop, feeling intense pain and not knowing why.
Baldwin told police that the driver got out of the SUV after the crash and apologized.
Police on the scene detected "a strong odor of alcohol" coming from Daniliuk, the complaint noted. He admitted to drinking a bottle of Fireball whiskey about two hours earlier and explained that he "mixed up the pedals," hitting the accelerator instead of the brakes.
