Open booze in car when speeding driver hit, killed motorist in Dakota Co., charges say

With an open and nearly empty bottle of rum nearby, an unlicensed and drunken motorist was going at least 50 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone when his car ran a stop sign in an Inver Grove Heights neighborhood and fatally struck a nurse and mother of three in her minivan, according to charges filed Tuesday.

Nicholas Anthony Indehar, 21, of Inver Grove Heights, was charged in Dakota County District Court with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide, one alleging intoxication and the other gross negligence. Indehar remains jailed in lieu of $200,000 bail with conditions.

The crash Saturday afternoon at Dawn Avenue and 70th Street killed Kim M. Caswell, 42, of Roseville. Caswell had just finished her rounds in her new duties as a HealthEast home health care nurse and was on her way home, her family said.

Indehar's record in Minnesota since August 2011 includes two convictions for drunken driving, two for speeding and one for illicit drug possession. He has not had a valid license since March 2013, according to the state Department of Public Safety.

According to the criminal complaint:

A motorist nearby saw Indehar's car speeding north on Dawn, and "if you blinked, you would have missed the crash because [the car] was traveling that fast," the complaint paraphrased the witness as telling officers. Another witness estimated that Indehar was traveling 50 to 60 mph when he ran the stop sign. A resident said he heard "acceleration noises" about the time of the collision.

The impact sent Caswell's westbound minivan into a utility pole, cracking it in half and leaving live electrical wires draped over her vehicle. She was dead at the scene.

A search of the vehicle turned up an open bottle of rum on the floor behind the driver's seat, "the contents of which were almost gone," the complaint read.

At the hospital, blood was drawn from Indehar and sent to the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to test for his alcohol level. Results from a preliminary breath test indicated that there was alcohol in his system, according to the complaint, which did not specify the level of intoxication.

Jon and Kim Caswell dated while both attended Mounds View High School and were married for 15 years, said mother-in-law Carole Caswell.

"She was a quiet person who was very much into the kids," daughters ages 15 and 13, and a 10-year-old son, Carole Caswell said. "She hauled them all over to their sports. She was just an all-around mom."

Kim Caswell's older sister, Becky, said "there's been a lot of tears all weekend," but the family is now focused on the couple's "wonderful, strong kids. Helping them is what it's all about."