New search warrant affidavits filed in court Friday reveal that the prominent attorney whose vehicle fatally struck a runner in St. Paul last month had collided with a car just minutes earlier.
Peter H. Berge, 60, struck a Mini Cooper on 6th Street in Minneapolis that was about to enter eastbound I-94 on Feb. 22.
About 4:40 p.m., Berge's BMW struck and killed 35-year-old Scott Spoo, who was running on Mississippi River Blvd. at Dayton Avenue in St. Paul.
About a week later, Berge was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer, according to his friend Mike Salovich.
According to court documents: The Mini Cooper's driver told police that she had to get Berge's attention because he apparently was unaware of the collision. The two pulled over to a safe location and exchanged insurance information.
The Mini Cooper's driver then asked Berge why a light on his BMW was hanging by a wire, and he said that he had struck a mailbox two weeks earlier, the affidavits said.
The documents also show that one witness told police that Berge was driving erratically southbound on Mississippi River Blvd.
"That witness stated at one point he saw Berge driving with his cellphone in his hand and Berge kept looking down at his phone," one affidavit said. "The witness stated that Berge was varying his speed including rapidly accelerating and swerving into oncoming traffic, including forcing one oncoming vehicle off to the shoulder of the road to avoid a collision."
