An unlicensed driver has admitted that he ran over and killed a woman on a busy street after dark in Albert Lea, Minn., then fleeing the scene.

Leslie D. Jones, 52, of nearby Hartland, pleaded guilty Friday to criminal vehicular homicide in Freeborn County District Court in connection with the death in December of Joanne C. Klein.

Klein, 66, of Albert Lea, was crossing the road when she was hit by Jones' pickup truck about 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 16 outside a McDonald's near the intersection of E. Main and Katherine streets. She ended up in the median of Main Street and was dead by the time emergency responders arrived.

Shortly after 8:30 a.m. the next day, officers were told that a pickup matching the description of the one being sought was at the Motor Inn auto dealership, a little more than a mile east of where the incident occurred.

Jones was located by officers at the dealership, where he worked, and arrested.

Police said he has a Utah driver's license but it's expired. A charge of driving without a license was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

Jones remains jailed in lieu of $150,000 bail ahead of sentencing, which is scheduled for July 20.

Klein moved to Albert Lea in 1998 and was active at St. Teresa Catholic Church in nearby Mapleton, where she taught Sunday school.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482