Charges: Northern Minnesota driver was high when he struck teen pushing stroller, killing toddler

A motorist has been charged with running over a 16-year-old girl and killing the 2-year-old boy she was pushing in a stroller on the shoulder of a northern Minnesota highway.

Jake M. Place, 38, of Nashwauk, Minn., was charged last week in Itasca County District Court with several felonies including two counts of criminal vehicular homicide, one alleging that he was under the influence of drugs and the other that he fled the scene of the crash, Hwy. 65 north of Nashwauk.

Alexia N. Carroll, of Nashwauk, was walking south on the highway's right shoulder at 1:17 p.m. Thursday when the southbound pickup crossed onto the shoulder and hit her and 2-year-old nephew Logan Dean Klennert from behind, the State Patrol said. The pickup then took off, the patrol added.

The impact broke many of Carroll's bones, and she may need to have a foot amputated, the charges noted.

According to the criminal complaint:

A little more than an hour after the crash, a helicopter pilot working on utilities in the area notified the patrol of the damaged pickup's location.

The patrol pulled Place over, and he said he believed he "struck a deer or something," the complaint read. His wife arrived at the scene and said Place told him earlier that he fell asleep and might have hit a mailbox, the complaint said.

A patrol sergeant noted that Place's eyes suggested he was under the influence of a controlled substance. He gave a blood sample at the hospital for testing for drug use.

Place's criminal history includes convictions for various drug offenses.

Place posted bond and remains free ahead of an Aug. 12 court hearing. A message was left at his home seeking a response to the allegations. Court records do not show an attorney for him.