Se Minnesota Man Charged For Serious Injury Crash in Rochester
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- The Olmsted County Attorney’s Office filed charges Wednesday against a Houston, MN man accused of causing a crash with serious injuries along Broadway Ave. in rural northeast Rochester Monday evening.
Emergency responders were called to a three-vehicle crash around 5:45 p.m. just north of Broadway’s intersection with Ridge Dr. Northeast. The crash report in the criminal complaint indicates a series of southbound vehicles slowed to allow a driver to turn into a driveway when the suspect vehicle did not slow and rear-ended a pick-up driven by a 68-year-old man.
The collision caused the victim’s pick-up to enter the northbound lane where it was hit by an oncoming vehicle, causing the pick-up to roll and come to rest on its side in a nearby ditch. The charges say the pick-up driver suffered a broken femur, five broken ribs, a broken clavicle, broken or fractured AC joint, an unknown amount of cervical spine fractures, brain hematoma, several broken teeth and an unknown number of facial fractures.
He was airlifted to St. Mary’s Hospital in critical condition but is expected to survive his injuries. The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office says the vehicle that struck the pick-up was driven by a 33-year-old woman, who had a 5-year-old boy riding with her. They were brought to St. Mary’s Hospital for treatment of minor injuries and observation.
The charges say deputies detected the odor of marijuana coming from the driver of the suspect vehicle, identified as 24-year-old Dylan Yocum. Deputies also smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle and saw marijuana paraphernalia inside of the vehicle, the complaint states.
Yocum admitted to using marijuana earlier in the day and a field sobriety test showed signs of impairment, according to the complaint. Authorities obtained a warrant to collect a sample of Yocum's blood that’s been sent to the Minnesota BCA for testing.
Court records say Yocum has an active arrest warrant related to a June 2022 DWI charge in Wabasha County. He has two previous petty misdemeanor convictions for having marijuana in motor vehicle in Fillmore County in 2017 and Houston County in 2021.
Yocum was arranged in Olmsted County Court Wednesday on a felony count of Criminal Vehicular Operation - Great Bodily Harm - Under Influence Control Substance and two gross misdemeanor counts of Criminal Vehicular Operation - Bodily Harm - Under Influence Control Substance. The judge in the case set his bail at $50,000. His next court appearance is set for April 5.