Driver charged, remains under guard in hospital after crash in Mpls. alley left 2 dead

A woman charged with multiple felonies in a crash that killed two people and injured another in a Minneapolis alley this weekend remained under police guard in a hospital Monday.

Michele Reimann, 47, of Blaine, stands charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and one count of criminal vehicular operation in the Friday evening crash that killed Terrence L. Odom, 40, of Minneapolis. Odom was in the driver's seat of a parked car that was struck by Reimann's van. The van's passenger was also killed. That person has not been identified.

Reimann is under police guard at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, where she is being treated for noncritical injuries, said Minneapolis police spokesman Scott Seroka. When she makes her first court appearance, prosecutors intend to ask that she be jailed in lieu of $750,000 bail.

"Speed and impairment are possible factors being investigated in regards to this crash," a statement from police read. She also was driving after having her license canceled, a state Department of Public Safety official said Tuesday.

According to charges, Reimann was using alcohol and crack cocaine with two others when the driver of the van they were in pulled into a convenience store near 2600 W. Broadway Av.

The driver went inside the store, and when she returned she saw Reimann driving away with the other friend. As she left the parking lot, Reimann struck another vehicle, whose driver then followed her.

An officer was on patrol near 27th Street and Russell Avenue and saw Reimann pass him in oncoming traffic while speeding, followed by another vehicle. The officer stopped the second vehicle, driven by a man who said Reimann had struck his vehicle and fled, and that he was trying to stop her.

Before the officer could catch up to Reimann, police reports say, she sideswiped a vehicle near Lowry Avenue, crashed into a utility pole in an alley, careened into a parked car and struck another utility pole, cutting it in half. The van then rolled onto its side.

Reimann's passenger was pinned beneath the van and was pronounced dead at the scene. Odom was found dead about 15 yards from his parked car while a passenger he had just let out suffered noncritical injuries.

According to charges, Reimann climbed out of the wreckage, was uncooperative and denied being the driver. Witnesses and surveillance footage confirmed she was behind the wheel.

Prosecutors say they intend to seek a longer sentence because of Reimann's driving and drug use records, along with the seriousness of the offense.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482