Drunk driver with revoked license ran red light in Minneapolis fatal crash: Charges
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MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A 25-year-old man faces felony charges in a fatal Minneapolis car crash after allegedly speeding and running a red light while intoxicated, according to court documents.
The crash occurred on Nov. 18 around 2:10 a.m. on University Avenue Southeast over Highway 35 in Minneapolis. Police responded to the scene of the two-car collision and found both cars with heavy front-end damage and deployed airbags.
According to court documents, traffic cameras in the area caught the collision on camera. The driver, 25-year-old Kenneth Damon Spencer Jr, entered the intersection with an "obvious red light" and struck the woman’s driver's side while going almost 75 mph in a 30-mph zone.
When officers arrived on the scene, they tried to free the woman but could not reach her. They climbed into the vehicle to provide medical aid, but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the complaint.
Spencer allegedly admitted to officers he ran the red light and had been drinking and smoking marijuana before driving, the complaint states.
Officers said they observed Spencer having "bloodshot and watery eyes, slurred speech and pinpoint-sized pupils that did not react to light," the complaint reads. A blood draw indicated Spencer had an ethyl alcohol concentration almost twice the legal limit.
Spencer was charged on Thursday via warrant in Hennepin County with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide. Spencer is currently not in custody, and his first court appearance has yet to be scheduled.
According to court documents, Spencer had his driving privileges revoked and a "prior impaired driving-related" loss of license in July 2021.