Jurors have convicted a Twin Cities motorist of being high when he tried to pass vehicles on a southern Minnesota highway and caused a collision that killed a driver heading the other way.
Steven P. Hess, 38, of Chaska, was found guilty Friday in Nicollet County District Court of criminal vehicular homicide and driving while under the influence of an illicit drug in connection with the crash on Jan. 21, 2020, along Hwy. 14 in Courtland Township, roughly 20 miles northwest of Mankato, that killed 23-year-old Aaron G. Lloyd of Nicollet.
Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 31.
The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension determined through a blood test that Hess had amphetamines and methamphetamine in his system at the time of the crash.
According to the charges:
Several drivers on the two-lane highway told authorities that Hess was attempting to pass other eastbound vehicles ahead of him before hitting the oncoming car. He was hospitalized with noncritical injuries.
While in the hospital, a State Patrol sergeant interviewed Hess, and he acknowledged using methamphetamine, but that was three days earlier, and he "had not recently slept," the charges said.
Court records show Hess has been convicted at least four times previously for driving with a suspended license. At the time of the crash, his license was valid, a state Department of Public Safety spokeswoman said. Hess also has a felony drug possession conviction on his record.
