Charges: Driver told Minnesota troopers 'sorry bro' after drunken, wrong-way crash

MINNETONKA, Minn. (FOX 9) - A driver facing charges in a deadly crash last weekend along I-394 in Minnetonka, Minnesota allegedly told troopers "sorry bro" after they asked him if he knew he was driving the wrong way, according to charges filed on Tuesday.

Joseph Maness, age 20, is now charged with criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation for the crash in the early morning hours of February 18. According to the charges, Minnesota State Patrol responded to a 911 call reporting a driver going the wrong way down I-394 in Golden Valley, headed west in the eastbound lanes.

But before troopers caught up with the driver, the vehicle, a red Jeep, had been involved in a head-on crash with a Chrysler just before the exit for Plymouth Road in Minnetonka.

At the scene, officers found the driver of the Chrysler, identified as 30-year-old Alan Alexander Caraveo of Melrose, Minnesota, unconscious and pinned behind the wheel. A passenger in the Chrysler was conscious but had suffered serious injuries.

Both were rushed to the hospital where Caraveo was ultimately pronounced dead. The passenger suffered broken bones and internal bleeding but is expected to survive her injuries.

As for the driver of the Jeep, later identified as Maness, troopers said he had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol, the complaint details. According to the charges, when asked by troopers if he knew he was driving the wrong way, troopers say Maness said: "Sorry bro."

The charges also state that Maness admitted to drinking 10 drinks and later registered a blood-alcohol content of .207.

As of Tuesday evening, Maness remains in Hennepin County Jail on a $150,000 bond.