6 months in jail, probation for ex-Minneapolis fire cadet who killed 23-year-old woman in crash

A former Minneapolis fire cadet received six months in jail and three years of probation on Thursday for a crash two years ago that killed a young woman who was deeply beloved in the theater community.

On April 15, 2021, Darrin D. Gregory Jr., 31, was on a FaceTime call with his wife and speeding when he struck a vehicle driven by Alice J. Tibbetts, 23, of Mendota Heights, on Hwy. 62 near Richfield, killing her. Tibbetts was a triplet, and her siblings shared victim impact statements before Gregory's sentencing in Hennepin County District Court after he pled guilty in June to criminal vehicular homicide.

Following the terms of a plea deal, Judge Juan Hoyos sentenced Gregory to less than recommended by state sentencing guidelines after finding he was amenable to probation. Hoyos ordered him to participate in 23 victim impact panels or programs talking to kids about the dangers of distracted driving.

Tibbetts' death sparked an outpouring of condolences. Her Facebook page is full of tributes to the St. Olaf College graduate showcasing her creativity and talent as an actress and violinist. The world was her stage. She made everything art. From her pixie haircut, outfits, and makeup to doodles and humor.

"We are but lost socks in the laundromat of time," Tibbett's Instagram bio reads.

Her professor and adviser Dona Freeman said Thursday that of the thousand students she taught, Tibbetts was among the top 10, describing her as earnestly passionate and "absolutely smitten by life."

Theater was home to Tibbetts, she said. In school she was popular yet kind to everyone. "Just wonderful, quirky," Freeman said.

Tibbetts joined the Classical Actors Ensemble (CAE) in 2015 while attending St. Paul Academy. She was so talented that she earned CAE's first high school apprenticeship. She had been cast in every summer production since.

"She was robbed of the world and the world was robbed of her," said CAE artistic director Joseph Papke in a statement. "This makes the short time she was here all the more special and precious."

CAE established an Alice Tibbetts memorial fund on its website.

Gregory, a 10-year Army veteran currently serving as a middle school security officer, received a dozen letters of support to the judge, including from the Minneapolis NAACP and Minneapolis Fire Department, where he was a cadet before the academy released him in light of his criminal case. His dad has been with the department for more than 20 years.

Deputy Chief of Training Joseph Mattison wrote that he hoped for a legal conclusion "that would allow Gregory to get another chance in being able to be positive role model as firefighter in our diverse community." The fire captain wrote he was on the hiring list.

A Minneapolis patrol officer, correctional officer for Ramsey County Sheriff's Office, four U.S. Army officials and the principal of Parkway Montessori and Community Middle School wrote of Gregory's character and that he deserved a second chance.

At the time of the crash, traffic was almost at a standstill and reduced to one lane due to construction, according to the criminal complaint. Video showed Tibbetts' car rear-ended a Chevy, which moved to the shoulder. Gregory's truck then struck the back of Tibbetts' car, pushing it across the southbound lane of I-35 and onto the far-right shoulder.

The Chevy driver told police he saw Gregory's red truck "flipping in the air over his vehicle," the complaint says.

Tibbetts was pronounced dead at the scene. Gregory had to be extracted from his truck. When he struck Tibbetts' car, he was traveling between 63 and 71 miles an hour.

He told police that his phone was mounted to the windshield at the time of the crash. He said he wasn't looking at it and tried slamming on his brakes. However, investigators and a crash reconstruction found he never attempted to brake or make any evasive movements.

Gregory's defense attorney, Robert Ambrose, declined to comment.