Man Sentenced For Hit & Run Death of Minnesota Teen Last Summer

Forest Lake, MN (KROC-AM News) - A 21-year-old Minnesota man has been handed a nearly 20 year prison sentence for causing the hit and run death of a teenage girl last summer.

The criminal complaint in the case accused Dylan Robert Simmons of striking and fatally injuring a 17-year-old girl while driving a car in a parking lot at a park in Forest Lake last July. The court document says the deadly incident occurred while two groups of people, mostly known to each other, were engaged in arguments and fights in the parking lot.

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According to the charges, Simmons got into his car and drove in the direction of one of the groups of people and crashed into one of their vehicles. It was then alleged that the young man from North Branch drove at the group of people for a second time and ran over the teenage girl.

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner later ruled the death of Darisha Vath a homicide and indicated her death was the result of "traumatic head injuries due to a automobile-pedestrian collision."  A GoFundMe page was created for her family.

He was put on trial last December on charges of second-degree murder, criminal vehicular homicide, and second-degree assault. The jury that heard the case found Simmons guilty of second-degree murder, criminal vehicular homicide, and multiple counts of felony assault.

READ MORE: Jury Convicts Minnesota Man For Killing Teenage Girl in Hit & Run

Simmons went before a judge in Washington County on Thursday and was given concurrent sentences totaling 234 months in prison.

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