Drunk Wrong-Way Driver Guilty Plea For Rochester Highway 52 Crash
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man is scheduled to be sentenced next month for seriously injuring another motorist while driving drunk and in the wrong direction on Highway 52 in Rochester a little over a year ago.
Twenty-seven-year-old David Delos Santos
Twenty-seven-year-old David Delos Santos Aparicio recently entered into a plea agreement in the case. Olmsted County court records say he was taken into custody following the crash near the 6th Street Southwest interchange on January 13 of last year.
Crash Left Other Driver Seriously Injured
According to the Minnesota State Patrol crash report, he was behind the wheel of an SUV that was traveling south in the northbound lanes of Highway 52 when his vehicle collided with a northbound SUV. The criminal complaint says the other driver, 62-year-old Diane Kay Jerome, was transported to the hospital suffering from a lacerated liver, a brain bleed, several fractured ribs, along with multiple cuts and bruises.
"I'm Drunk"
According to the charges, Delos Santos Aparicio admitted to investigators that he had consumed eight to nine beers before driving. When asked if he knew he was driving in the wrong direction, the criminal complaint says Delos Santos Aparicio responded, “No, but I’m drunk.”
The court document says a preliminary blood test measured his blood alcohol concentration at .247, which is more than three times the legal limit. A later test of a blood sample put his BAC at .223.
Also Injured
The criminal complaint notes that Delos Santos Aparicio was also hospitalized following the crash with what were described as non-life-threatening injuries.
He was charged with two counts of felony criminal vehicular operation and has since pleaded guilty to one of those charges.
More Minnesota News:
More From KROC-AM
