Fresh off probation for DUI, man allegedly drove drunk, caused Twin Cities collision that killed 2

Fresh off probation for a drunken driving conviction, a man got behind the wheel after drinking, traveled on the wrong side of the highway and killed two people in a head-on crash with an SUV, according to prosecutors.

Seth John Nechville, 28, of Kenyon, Minn., was charged Monday in District Court with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and second-degree drunken driving in connection with the crash that occurred late Saturday morning on Hwy. 56 just south of E. 292nd Street in Randolph.

During a hearing Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors argued successfully for Nechville’s bail to be set at $300,000. They alleged in a court filing that “he blew above the legal limit” of 0.08% blood alcohol content during a preliminary breath test. The filing did not reveal a precise figure.

Prosecutors also disclosed to the court that Nechville’s two years of probation ended on Sept. 1, five days before the crash, stemming from his most recent of two drunken driving convictions.

Nechville is due back in court on Nov. 5. Court records do not list an attorney for him.

The State Patrol identified the victims as driver Peter F. Olson, 68, and his wife, passenger Patricia “Trysh” A. Olson, 49, both of Apple Valley.

Patricia Olson worked for Wings Financial Credit Union at its headquarters in Apple Valley, as did Pete Olson until his retirement in 2020, and her death is being mourned by leaders in the national Credit Union Financial Education Network. She had been with Wings for 23 years and was CUFEN’s chair at the time of her death.

Along with the two drunken driving convictions, court records in Minnesota also show that Nechville was cited eight times for speeding, twice for driving after his license was revoked and once each for careless driving, failure to drive with due care and driving without proof of insurance.

At the time of the crash, Nechville had a valid driver’s license, according to the State Department of Public Safety.

According to the criminal complaint:

Officers responded to the crash scene and saw the SUV “on fire with catastrophic front-end damage,” the charges read. Nechville’s pickup, also damaged in front, was pointed north on southbound Hwy. 56.

Passers-by stopped and got the two occupants out of the SUV and provided immediate aid. However, they were declared dead at the scene.

Nechville told an officer that he believed he was heading south and gave various versions of where he was coming from.

“The officer could smell alcoholic beverage coming from Nechville and saw that his eyes were bloodshot and watery,” the complaint read.

He initially denied drinking any alcohol the night before but added, “’I’m hoping to tear into it tonight,’” the charges quoted him as saying.

Nechville was arrested, and law enforcement took a sample of his blood to test for his degree of intoxication. Text results are pending.

While at the hospital for evaluation for injuries, Nechville said he had been drinking from about midnight to 2:30 a.m. alone at his home.

Myra Arzate, who works for a credit union in Midland, Texas, and is CUFEN’s vice chair , said Wednesday that when “Trysh took over the organization, we were not doing well ... financially. She built it was heart and passion. ... It was definitely Trysh’s baby.”

John Wagner, a colleague of Trysh Olson’s at Wings, said she “had a unique way to reach people, specifically kids, about financial literacy and how people could be better stewards of their own money. We have a huge hole not only in our hearts but also the organization.”

Dana McDonald shared a cubicle wall with Trysh Olson at Wings, and they soon became best friends until Olson was moved to another part of the headquarters a couple of years ago.