A man was driving recklessly while drunk and without a license when he collided head-on with a minivan late at night in Bloomington, killing his passenger, according to charges.
Dior Cortez Wheeler, 32, of Bloomington, was charged Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court with two counts each of criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation in connection with the crash on April 27 near the intersection of E. 86th Street and Old Cedar Avenue S.
Sydney Lea Brown, 29, of Virginia, Minn., died in the crash. Under police questioning at the scene, Wheeler tried to convince police that Brown was driving, the criminal complaint disclosed.
Wheeler is not currently in custody, and an arrest warrant has been issued after investigators reached out to Wheeler’s landlord and his employer inquiring about his whereabouts, according to the charges, which noted that he did not pay his July rent.
At the time of the crash, Wheeler was driving after his license had been revoked, the charges read. Court records show his criminal record includes one conviction for drunken driving, four for driving while his license was revoked and two for careless driving.
According to the complaint and a related court document:
Police arrived at the scene at about 11:20 p.m. and saw that a car and a minivan had been in a head-on collision on Old Cedar Avenue S. Brown was taken by emergency medical responders to a hospital where she was declared dead 45 minutes later.
Wheeler claimed to police that Brown was the driver and that he arranged on a dating app to meet her at a bar after he got off work at a Bloomington hotel. He said he drank one beer and a shot of alcohol there before they left with Brown driving.
