Miami Trucker Pleads Guilty to Gross Negligence in Byron Crash

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A truck driver from Miami, Florida has admitted to gross negligence for a traffic crash that occurred last year in Byron and resulted in significant injuries to the occupants of the minivan.

The Olmsted County Attorney's Office filed a criminal complaint against 53-year-old Joseph Mitilien last December following an investigation into the violent crash on April 21 at the intersection of Highway 14 and 10th Avenue Northwest in Byron. The court document says he was traveling east in a semi-truck at highway speeds that collided with several stationary vehicles. Video from MnDOT cameras at the intersection showed the traffic signals for the vehicles had just turned from red to green, but the drivers had yet to begin moving when the crash occurred.

The video shows the truck smashing into a minivan and pushing it into an SUV, sending the smaller vehicles to the south of the intersection. The semi-truck can then be seen veering slightly to the north and continuing through the intersection before colliding with the Jeep and crashing into the median ditch.

The criminal complaint indicates the occupants of the minivan and the SUV were transported to St. Marys hospital with significant injuries. A woman driving the minivan suffered multiple broken bones and required multiple surgeries for a brain bleed. A man in the passenger seat of the SUV suffered a broken back.

The charges state that a forensic examination of two cell phones seized from the truck determined that Mitilien made or received four phone calls, dealt with nine text messages, and watched multiple YouTube videos during the times he was driving the truck on the morning of the crash. It also determined that a 31 minute long video that began playing at 10 AM was still playing when the crash occurred.

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Mitilien entered a guilty plea to a felony count of criminal vehicular operation on Friday. His plea agreement recommends a jail sentence not to exceed 90 days and five years on probation. His sentencing hearing is scheduled to take place in March.