A 39-year-old man with a history of drunken driving has been sentenced to a four-year term for driving while high and killing another motorist in a head-on crash in northern Minnesota.
Matthew J. Kirkpatrick, 39, of Keewatin, Minn., was sentenced Monday in Itasca County District Court after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide and fifth-degree drug possession in connection with the collision on Jan. 17, 2021, that killed Larry Meyer, 69, of Hibbing.
With credit for already served in jail, Kirkpatrick is expected to spend slightly more than two years in prison and the balance on supervised release.
Court records show that Kirkpatrick was convicted of drunken driving in 2006 and again in 2017, and twice for driving while his license was either suspended or revoked.
Kirkpatrick was heading east in his SUV on Hwy. 169 between Hibbing and Grand Rapids shortly after 5 a.m., when he crossed the center line and hit Meyer's westbound pickup truck.
Meyer died at the scene. Kirkpatrick was hospitalized in Duluth for treatment of numerous serious injuries.
Toxicology results from the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension revealed that Kirkpatrick had methamphetamine and amphetamine in his bloodstream, the criminal complaint disclosed. In his jacket pocket was a small amount of meth.
Meyer was an Army veteran and drove a delivery route for the Mesabi Tribune for more than 14 years, according to his online obituary.
