A man with a history of alcohol offenses was sentenced on Tuesday to a year in jail for driving drunk and running over the same pedestrian twice in Rosemount, at one point dragging him as bystanders screamed and nearly killing him.
Saddam Samaan, 33, had pleaded guilty to criminal vehicular operation for critically injuring the pedestrian. That's a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
On Tuesday, Dakota County District Judge Patrice Sutherland sentenced Samaan to 365 days in jail and stayed 23 months.
That was over the defense's request for a 364-day sentence, which would have helped Samaan avoid a stiffer sanction by immigration officials. Samaan, a Jordanian, was also being held for possible deportation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Samaan had four other counts, including driving while impaired and first-degree assault, dismissed by prosecutors.
He has previous convictions for drunken driving in 2005, 2006 and 2008.
A criminal complaint says the latest incident, about 2 a.m. on Feb. 7, 2010, near Shenanigan's Pub, 14605 S. Robert Trail, happened this way:
Witnesses told police that Samaan drove onto the sidewalk, struck the victim and kept dragging him as bystanders pounded on the window, screaming for the driver to stop. Samaan drove over a snowbank, dislodging the victim, drove over the man with the back tires and then drove away.
