Jail Sentence For Hit & Run That Seriously Injured SE MN Toddler

Owatonna, MN (KROC-AM News) - An Owatonna man was sentenced today for a felony conviction stemming from a hit and run incident earlier this year that seriously injured a toddler.

Owatonna police reported the arrest of 37-year-old Scott John Pfeiffer on May 22, one day after the pickup he was driving struck a woman as she was carrying a 2-year-old child across the street next to her apartment building. According to the criminal complaint, the mother of the child watched as the vehicle struck her friend and the toddler fell out of the woman's arms and onto the ground before the pickup truck drove over her.

Following the incident, Owatonna police indicated the child was airlifted to St. Mary's Hospital to be treated for significant injuries. Court records state that Mayo Clinic physicians treated the toddler for a small fracture of the back of her skull, with slight bleeding in the skull, and a concussion. She also suffered fractures in her pelvic region, a liver lesion, along with a laceration that required nine stitches and numerous scrapes and bruises.

The charges filed against Pfeiffer outline how Owatonna police identified a vehicle of interest and tracked its travels through videos recorded by security cameras installed in various businesses. One of the videos shows Pfeiffer purchasing fuel and using a carwash at a gas station immediately after the hit and run occurred.

The criminal complaint says the pickup was located the following afternoon and Pfeiffer was arrested after he was seen exiting the vehicle. An investigator at the scene reported that Pfeiffer stated, "I didn't know I hit a person" and also claimed that he thought that it struck trash being thrown at his vehicle.

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In September, Pfeiffer entered a guilty plea to a felony count of criminal vehicular operation and a gross misdemeanor count of the same crime.

He was sentenced this morning to 60 days in jail and two years on probation. The court also reserved consideration of restitution in the case for a later date.

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