Charge: Drunk driver with revoked license kills girlfriend in west metro crash, tries to blame her

A 27-year-old Crystal man who has repeatedly driven with a revoked license crashed a car while drunk in Eden Prairie, then tried to blame his girlfriend for the wreck as she lay dead nearby, according to authorities.

Angus J. Anderson was charged Friday in Hennepin County District Court with criminal vehicular homicide in connection with last June's death of Azirea T. Sheley, 23, of Hopkins.

She was thrown from her car and over a guardrail. She died at the scene of the rollover crash, the flyover ramp that leads from eastbound Hwy. 212 to eastbound Hwy. 62. Anderson was treated for his injuries and is now a fugitive.

Anderson's driving history in Minnesota shows at least 15 convictions for driving after having his license taken away. His license status was revoked at the time of the crash and remains so, the state Department of Public Safety said Monday.

His blood alcohol content soon after the crash was .117 percent, above the legal limit for driving in Minnesota.

Among Sheley's survivors is a daughter, who is now 4.

Savannah Andrews said Monday that her sister needed a ride because her vehicle had recently been impounded for a reason the sister didn't know.

"If she would have called one of us, we could have gotten her and she would be alive right now," Andrews said.

Andrews said her sisters and Anderson were more friends than a couple, as he portrayed.

"He's a habitual liar," Andrews said. "They met through mutual friends about a year or so ago and have hung out off an on."

According to the criminal complaint, Anderson told officers at Hennepin County Medical Center that he picked Sheley up at an Eden Prairie hotel and that she was driving at the time of the wreck. However, a witness said she saw Anderson behind the wheel.

Also, DNA tests found that blood on the driver's-side door inside the car and the driver's seat belonged to Anderson. Sheley's blood was not found on the driver's side.

The complaint spelled out law enforcement's concerns about Anderson's propensity to run from the law and the need for a large bail upon his arrest.

Anderson also has an active warrant in Hennepin County on a disorderly conduct charge. At the hospital after the crash, he tried to leave against medical advice. He's had seven warrants issued by courts in the past three years for failing to appear.

Anderson's criminal history in the state when not driving includes convictions for robbery, theft, domestic assault, disorderly conduct and drug possession.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482