Accused Drunk Driver Charged With Wrong Way Crash Near Rochester

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Charges have been filed against a Texas man accused of driving drunk and causing a wrong way crash in Rochester earlier this year.

A criminal complaint filed in Olmsted County Court says the injury crash was reported around 9:50 PM on April 6. It states a State Trooper and Olmsted County deputy responded to the head-on collision after it occurred about a mile west of the 60th Ave., Northwest intersection with Highway 14.

The trooper reported finding a passenger car and a small pickup truck with significant front end damage and the driver of the car sitting upright in the median.
The criminal complaint says the man was transported to St. Mary's Hospital and the EMTs at the scene suspected he had suffered a concussion and possible internal bleeding.

Before he was transported, the charges say the victim stated he was driving east on Highway 14 in the right lane when he noticed a vehicle coming towards him. He initially thought the vehicle was on the other side of the highway, but realized too late that it was coming directly at him.

The court document says the other driver, identified as 24-year-old Sonny Bryan Garcia, was found trapped inside the pickup with a can of beer in his lap.

The charges indicate the State Trooper also spotted two boxes of beer and a cooler in the truck bed. The trooper also noted the "overwhelming odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle." The charges also state that Garcia appeared to be "severely intoxicated with slow and slurred vocals in addition to red and watery eyes."

A criminal complaint says a preliminary breath test administered while Garcia was being transported to the hospital measured his blood-alcohol-concentration at nearly .23.

He is charged with gross misdemeanor counts of criminal vehicular operation and DWI.