'The family wants you to get better': Driver in fatal I-35 crash gets merciful sentence

FARIBAULT, Minn. — Dr. Michael Ray Bendel-Stenzel's family say he was a generous man who was passionate about music, technology, the environment, and the children he treated as a pediatrician.

In victim impact statements read in court Friday, Bendel-Stenzel's family members described him as the chief entertainer at holiday parties who wrote songs about his children, nieces and nephews.

They said the 55-year-old Bendel-Stenzel was happy to be the family doctor, checking on relatives with aches and pains, as well as the go-to tech support anytime someone had a problem. They also described his love for medicine, saying his sharp intelligence fit his good reputation in the Twin Cities pediatric community.

After Bendel-Stenzel died in 2020, his wife, Ellen, has had to manage the household on her own while his daughter, who recently got engaged, won't have her father walk her down the aisle.

The person responsible for his death, Kaytlen Greenlee, suppressed sniffles and wiped her face with tissues as a court official read how Bendel-Stenzel's death has affected his family.

Greenlee, 25, of Adams, Minn., was sentenced Friday to five years of probation per Bendel-Stenzel's family's wishes and a plea deal with the Rice County Attorney's Office.

Greenlee was charged with criminal vehicular homicide after she sped through roadwork signs on Interstate 35W near Northfield on Sept. 25, 2020, slamming into Bendel-Stenzel's car and setting off a fiery multivehicle crash that killed the pediatrician.

Greenlee has her own pediatric issues. She's legally blind in one eye after being diagnosed at the age of 3 with septo-optic dysplasia, a developmental disease that can cause eye, pituitary gland and brain issues in severe cases.

Her attorney, Jason Dzurik, said she never got treated as a child once her father gained custody of her.

Since the crash, Greenlee has withdrawn from family and friends. She hasn't driven since the crash or answered her mother's phone calls. Her plans to join the Adams Area Ambulance Service were put on hold.

"In many ways, I've lost my daughter again," said Kaytlen's mother, Cairene Greenlee, during the sentencing hearing.

Kaytlen Greenlee didn't speak at the sentencing, but her attorney read a statement in which she apologized to Bendel-Stenzel's family, saying there were "no words" to describe how sorry she was.

The family released a statementin April calling for leniency for Greenlee, saying Bendel-Stenzel's death "has been a tremendous loss to the family, but they do not see the need to ruin the defendant's life as well."

Prosecutors included five months of electronic home monitoring, 30 days each year, as part of Greenlee's probation. That can be reduced to 15 days if she completes at least 100 hours of community service annually.

Rice County Judge Jeffrey Johnson ordered Greenlee to get medical clearance to drive as part of her probation; her license was revoked because of the charges. He also required her to complete a mental health diagnostic.

"What I worry about for you is you also have been through a traumatic event," Johnson said to Greenlee. "The family wants you to be better. You need to take care of that."

Charges of criminal vehicular homicide are more commonly filed in Minnesota when drug use, drunkenness or distracted driving is involved. There was no evidence of those factors in connection with this crash, the County Attorney's Office said.

According to court documents and the State Patrol:

Late in the afternoon on Sept. 25, 2020, Greenlee was heading south in her SUV on I-35 about 7 miles west of Northfield when she failed to obey signs warning drivers of roadwork and that traffic ahead was stopped or slowed.

Greenlee hit Bendel-Stenzel's Mini Cooper, setting off a chain reaction that involved two more vehicles. The Mini Cooper ended up on its side and on fire. Bendel-Stenzel's wife suffered broken ribs and a tear in her thoracic aorta that required emergency surgery. His son was cut and bruised.

Greenlee said she tried to slow down, but an analysis of her SUV's "black box" showed the vehicle was traveling at least 74 miles per hour in a 70-mph zone and the brakes were not applied during any of the final eight seconds before impact.

Greenlee's passenger, Megan R. Koch of Austin, Minn., survived her injuries. The two were on their way back from a visit to the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley.

The drivers in the other vehicles and one passenger were not hurt.

Bendel-Stenzel was a hospitalist at Children's Hospital Minnesota as well as a teacher at the University of Minnesota. He was known to patients and colleagues for his colorful bow ties and extensive medical knowledge.

Four days before his death, the Bendel-Stenzels bought a home in Rochester, where wife Ellen joined Mayo Clinic as a neonatologist.