A St. Paul man whose blood-alcohol content was about 3½ times the legal limit for driving in Minnesota when he struck and killed a Minneapolis man in 2020 has been sentenced to nearly 3½ years after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide.

Kevin C. Vereecke, 48, was sentenced last week in Ramsey County District Court in connection with a crash April 28, 2020, that killed Russell W. Bangert, 61, as he walked just off the curb on Charles Avenue near Vandalia Street in St. Paul.

Vereecke will serve about 2¼ years in prison and the balance on supervised release. His criminal history in Minnesota includes a drunken-driving conviction in 2009.

According to the criminal complaint:

Video surveillance images showed Bangert walking about a foot off the curb along Charles, where there is no sidewalk on that side of the street. Vereecke's pickup truck swerved and hit Bangert, throwing him 60 feet.

Police officers soon found Vereecke asleep in the truck's back seat. Testing by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension showed his blood-alcohol content moments after the crash was 0.278%, about 3½ times the legal limit for driving in Minnesota.

Kevin C. Vereecke Credit: Ramsey County jail

Vereecke told police the next day he had been drinking at home on the day of the crash and had run errands before returning home and drinking some more. He said he remembered little about the collision because "[I] shouldn't have really been driving," the complaint quoted him as saying.

Paul Walsh