Charges: Albert Lea teen sent car sideways before crash killed passenger

An unlicensed teenage driver was purposely swerving on a country road in southern Minnesota and under the influence of alcohol when he crashed and killed one of his four passengers, according to charges.

Dominik Nikko Boots-Ringeon, 18, was charged in Freeborn County District Court on Friday with criminal vehicular homicide and driving after his license was revoked.

The crash took place Thursday on 795th Avenue in Glenville, roughly 5 miles southeast of Albert Lea.

Killed in the crash was James J. Amarosa III, 17, of Albert Lea, the Sheriff's Office said. Cameron M. Cunningham of Twin Lakes, Minn., was taken by air ambulance from the scene with critical injuries. Both were thrown from the vehicle.

Two other passengers, Shelby L. Watkins, 19, of Austin, Minn., and Chase A. Garza, 17, of Albert Lea, suffered minor injuries.

Boots-Ringeon, of Albert Lea, remains jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail ahead of a Sept. 10 court appearance. Court records do not yet list an attorney for him.

According to the criminal complaint:

One deputy detected tracks in the gravel road that appeared to be marks made by "drifting," created when a driver oversteers and sends the vehicle sideways. There were multiple sets of tracks indicating that the car had been drifting near the crash scene.

Boots-Ringeon denied that he had been drinking, but a preliminary breath test at the scene measured his blood alcohol content at 0.07%. A later test by Albert Lea police measured it at 0.055%. The legal age for drinking under any circumstance in Minnesota is 21.