Fatal Sherburne County crash blamed on car race

Having just been passed by a sporty black car on a Sherburne County road, Cody Moen revved his car's engine even higher, closed in tightly on the other vehicle and then zipped onto the gravel shoulder, authorities say.

But the high-speed attempt to regain the lead turned tragic, according to charges filed Tuesday, and Moen's car spun off the gravel along County Road 17 in Big Lake Township, crossed the northbound lanes, a median and into the path of a motorcycle heading south.

The bike hit Moen's car on that clear afternoon in April, killing motorcyclist Brien Wickham, 31, of Big Lake, and passenger Jacquelyn Lee, 26, of Ramsey.

Moen, 19, of Big Lake, was charged Tuesday in District Court with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide or operation and remains jailed.

His driving record includes tickets in the past two years in Minnesota for careless driving, speeding and reckless driving with a willful or wanton disregard for safety. He was on probation from the reckless driving conviction at the time of the April crash.

Based on interviews with several witnesses and a county crash reconstruction investigator, the Sheriff's Office said in the criminal complaint:

A Cadillac heading north on County Road 17 at 60 miles per hour was passed by a 30-year-old man driving a black sports car. Moen, driving a maroon Dodge Intrepid and following the sports car "at a close distance," also passed the Cadillac.

Moments later, Moen tried to overtake the sports car at 95 mph, veered from the shoulder, across the northbound lanes and through the grassy median. Now in the southbound lanes, Moen was struck by the motorcycle.

The Cadillac driver stopped and noted that Moen was "freaking out" near the wreckage, the complaint said.

Wickham died at the scene, while Lee died after being airlifted to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale. Moen was treated at a hospital for injuries at the time and released.