A Marshall man has admitted that he was driving drunk this spring when he crossed the centerline of a southwestern Minnesota highway and collided head-on with an SUV, killing the driver and seriously injuring two other people.
Man admits driving drunk, killing other driver in head-on crash in southwestern Minnesota
His blood-alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit for driving.
October 19, 2022 at 2:34PM
Kaw La, 43, agreed Tuesday in Lyon County District Court to plead guilty to one count of criminal vehicular homicide and two counts of criminal vehicular operation in connection with the collision on April 29 that killed Shawn M. Lemburg, 29, of nearby Walnut Grove.
The plea agreement calls for La to receive a sentence of 4 3⁄4 years. With credit for time in jail since his arrest, La can expect to serve slightly more than 2 3⁄4 years of his term in prison and the balance on supervised release. Court records do not show a date for sentencing.
According to the charges:
Joshua Tolley, 33, a passenger in Lemburg's SUV, told a state trooper that he and his partner were heading south on Hwy. 23 northeast of Marshall about 8:10 p.m. when La's pickup truck crossed the centerline.
La told the trooper he drank a small amount of beer that evening. The trooper saw three cold bottles of beer in the pickup. One was empty. A preliminary breath test at the hospital on the night of the crash showed La had a blood alcohol content of 0.15%. A follow-up blood test yielded a 0.17% reading, more than twice the legal limit for driving in Minnesota.
Tolley suffered broken legs, a fractured wrist, bruised lungs and cuts to his face. A passenger in La's pickup, Nay Moo, 30, of Springdale, Wash., also was severely injured.
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