A 67-year-old woman has agreed to plead guilty to a felony for hitting and killing a motorcyclist while driving her pickup truck in an Anoka County intersection.

Sherry L. Thatcher admitted in District Court on Tuesday to criminal vehicular operation in connection with the collision on July 2, 2019, in Ham Lake that killed Daniel R. Priess, 33, of Blaine.

Priess, who was born and raised in Germany, was a German language teacher at Blaine High School at the time of the crash. He also taught German at Anoka High School in 2017-18 and English as a second language for two summers at Northdale Middle School in Coon Rapids.

The plea agreement calls for Thatcher, of Ham Lake, to be on probation for five years and to have a 30-day jail sentence set aside. In exchange, the prosecution has agreed to dismiss the more serious count of criminal vehicular homicide, which alleged she was driving in a grossly negligent manner and being negligent while under the influence of alcohol.

The charges said that Thatcher's blood alcohol content soon after the crash was 0.038%, less than half what typically is needed to draw a charge related to drinking and driving.

Thatcher's attorney, Eric Doolittle, said Wednesday his client has gone through alcohol treatment and has been sober since the crash.

According to the criminal complaint:

Thatcher was driving her pickup north on Lexington Avenue about 4:15 p.m., came up to a flashing yellow arrow traffic signal, made a left-hand turn onto Bunker Lake Boulevard and hit Priess' southbound motorcycle.

She said she saw the motorcycle approaching "but thought she had enough time to make the turn," the charges read. "The defendant admitted to consuming two 16-ounce beers before driving."

Thatcher's criminal history includes two drunken driving convictions from the 1990s.