A man has been given a year in jail for speeding at roughly twice the limit and killing another motorist in a collision on a foggy road near Duluth.
Jesse J. Kowalczak, 22, of Proctor, Minn., was sentenced on Jan. 23 in St. Louis County District Court after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the crash on May 13, 2022, that killed Leah J. Sarko, 48, of Duluth, and seriously injured her 11-year-old son.
The collision about 8:45 a.m. at S. Ugstad Road and Ugstad Junction left Sarko’s son, Evan, with a concussion and broken bones.
Sarko’s online obituary noted that “her last act was casting her momma bubble over her son to save him during the accident.”
A State Patrol analysis of the crash concluded that Kowalczak was traveling up to 89 mph at the time of the crash on a road with a speed limit of 40 mph.
Judge Nicole Hopps opted for jail time while setting aside a five-year sentence. Hopps also ordered Kowalczak to serve five years’ probation.
Hopps departed downward from state guidelines in her sentence, a decision that the prosecution did not support.
