Charges: Man was under influence in Coon Rapids crash that killed 2-year-old

A 55-year-old man has been charged with driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol when he caused a four-vehicle pileup on a snowy and icy Coon Rapids road that killed a 2-year-old boy and injured others in his family.

Pedro R. Flores, of Blaine, was charged in Anoka County District Court with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide, four counts of criminal vehicular operation and one count of drunken driving in connection with the crash on Nov. 30, 2019, that killed Gautam Pujari, of Lino Lakes.

Flores, who was charged Friday, declined to comment Monday. The crash happened on Main Street.

Court-authorized testing determined that, less than three hours after the crash, Flores had a blood alcohol content of 0.038% percent, below the legal limit for driving in Minnesota, the charging document said. But testing revealed THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

Flores' record in Minnesota includes a drunken driving conviction in 2017 in Sherburne County as well as speeding in northwestern Minnesota in 2012, going 104 miles per hour in a 70-mph zone. He also has a drunken driving conviction in Nevada.

A 29-year-old motorist from Champlin, whose pickup truck was in the crash, escaped injury. Mitch Heidmann performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the boy, according to the Sheriff's Office and emergency dispatch audio.

According to the Sheriff's Office and the criminal complaint:

Flores was heading east in his pickup and skidded over the median and into traffic, where he hit the Lino Lakes family's car head-on.

Investigators said Flores was traveling at least 55 miles per hour, under the speed limit but too fast for the poor conditions.

The boy's mother, Mamanta Patil Bovi, 37, and his sister, Sinchana Pujari, 5, suffered serious injuries. The car's driver and children's father, Suresh Shrimant Pujari, 37, was slightly injured.