Man admits causing 4-vehicle pileup in Coon Rapids road that killed boy, 2, injured others in family

A 57-year-old man has pleaded guilty to causing a four-vehicle pileup that killed a 2-year-old boy and injured three of his family members nearly three years ago on a snowy and icy road in Coon Rapids.

Pedro R. Flores of Blaine agreed with Anoka County prosecutors Thursday to plead to one felony count of criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the crash Nov. 30, 2019, that killed Gautam Pujari of Lino Lakes.

The plea deal calls for Flores to serve a seven-month term spread over three years and up to 10 years of probation. The agreement includes what is called a stay of imposition. That typically means the court does not impose prison time, and should the defendant complete the terms of the imposed sentence, the charge is reduced to a misdemeanor, according to the County Attorney's Office.

District Judge James Cunningham will decide Jan. 13 whether to accept the terms of the plea agreement.

The criminal vehicular homicide count Flores is pleading guilty to addresses him driving on Main Street with gross negligence the afternoon of the crash.

Flores was heading east in his pickup and skidded over the median and into traffic, where he hit the family's car head-on, according to the criminal complaint. Investigators said Flores was traveling at least 55 mph, close to the speed limit but too fast for the poor wintry conditions that included a significant accumulation of falling snow, patches of ice and 15-mph winds.

He is not admitting to the other charges initially filed against him in October 2020: criminal vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol or an illicit drug, four counts of criminal vehicular operation and one count of drunken driving.

Court-authorized testing determined that, less than three hours after the crash, Flores had a blood alcohol content of 0.038% percent, below the legal limit for driving in Minnesota, the charging document said. But testing also revealed THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

Flores' record in Minnesota includes a drunken driving conviction in 2017 in Sherburne County as well as speeding in northwestern Minnesota in 2012, when he was traveling at 104 mph in a 70-mph zone. He also has a drunken driving conviction in Nevada.

The boy's mother, Mamanta Patil Bovi, who was 37 at the time of the crash, and his sister, Sinchana Pujari, 5, suffered serious injuries. The car's driver and children's father, Suresh Shrimant Pujari, 37, was slightly injured.