A 65-year-old man with a long history driving infractions has been sentenced to prison for striking and killing a woman as she was walking in St. Paul.
Michael J. Friend, of St. Paul, had been scheduled to go on trial Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court on a criminal vehicular homicide charge in connection with the death of My Ger Vang, 34, of St. Paul, after dark on Dec. 20, 2021.
Instead, Friend pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a term of 6¼ years. With credit for time in jail since his arrest, he can expect to serve roughly the first 3½ years in prison and the balance of his time on supervised release.
Friend has been convicted of at least two dozen crimes dating back more than 30 years. At the time of the crash, he was on probation after being sentenced in July 2020 for assault with a dangerous weapon.
His criminal history also includes three convictions for driving after his license was suspended or revoked and another for drunken driving. Friend had no license when he hit Vang, the state Department of Public Safety said, explaining that it was revoked several years ago.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police arrived near E. 3rd Street and S. White Bear Avenue and saw an unconscious Vang on the pavement with severe head injuries. Emergency responders took her to Regions Hospital, where she died.
Friend turned himself in to police the next day. Authorities found a friend's minivan he was driving in a parking lot at Mounds Boulevard and Earl Street with front-end damage.
