St. Paul teen charged in fatal hit-and-run

The suspect tried to have his car repaired within hours of the crash, police say. The auto shop owner turned him in.

March 23, 2019 at 1:58AM
Taressa D. Wilson-Snyder
Taressa D. Wilson-Snyder (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A 17-year-old driver was charged Friday in the fatal hit-and-run of a St. Paul woman after an auto shop owner alerted police about a suspicious customer.

Johnathan Xu Ying Yang, 17, of St. Paul, faces one felony count of criminal vehicular homicide in the death of Taressa Diana Wilson-Snyder.

Wilson-Snyder, 22, was found lying in the road near the corner of Maryland Avenue and Desoto Street early on March 16. She died later that day at Regions Hospital.

Investigators recovered vehicle pieces at the accident scene. Within hours of the accident, Yang had taken his father's Honda Odyssey to One Auto Glass in Maplewood, according to the criminal complaint filed by Ramsey County prosecutors. The shop owner called police.

Yang admitted to investigators that he hit a person while driving home and then fled. "He stated that he panicked after he hit her and was scared," according to court documents.

Yang is likely to make his first court appearance next week.

about the writer

about the writer

Shannon Prather

Reporter

Shannon Prather covers Ramsey County for the Star Tribune. Previously, she covered philanthropy and nonprofits. Prather has two decades of experience reporting for newspapers in Minnesota, California, Idaho, Wisconsin and North Dakota. She has covered a variety of topics including the legal system, law enforcement, education, municipal government and slice-of-life community news.

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