A 36-year-old man received a four-year term Wednesday for being drunk when he caused a wrong-way collision that killed a Winona State University sophomore in a second vehicle last winter in southeastern Minnesota.
Man given 4-year term for driving drunk, causing head-on crash that killed Winona State student
His blood alcohol content was measured at 0.16%, according to court records.
November 9, 2022 at 8:31PM
Adam S. Anderson of Winona was sentenced in Winona County District Court after agreeing to plead guilty to criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation in connection with the head-on crash Feb. 19 at the intersection of Hwy. 61 and Hwy. 43 in Winona that killed Hannah A. Goman, 20, of Stevens Point, Wis.
With credit served in jail since his arrest, Anderson is expected to serve two years and eight months in prison and the balance on supervised release.
Anderson entered a Norgaard plea, meaning he admits being guilty of the allegations but does not recall the circumstances of the crash.
A test taken soon after the collision showed he had a blood alcohol content of 0.16% , at least twice the legal limit for driving in Minnesota, court records disclosed.
The prosecution had wanted Anderson to be sentenced to a four-year term; the defense argued for local confinement, work release privileges and probation.
Defense attorney Marsh Halberg wrote to the court last week that Anderson had complied with all of the conditions of his release from jail after posting bond. Halberg also said his client was on an alcohol monitor, "which requires him to blow in to the machine several times a day."
In a statement filed with the court last week, Anderson wrote, "I cannot comprehend the misery I inflicted on the Goman family and the feeling caused by this senseless death.
"I imagine this outcome on one of my own children and can only come up with a world-shattering, gut-wrenching lifelong void," he said. "I do not know their pain."
Goman routinely made the dean's list at Winona State while pursuing majors in social work and criminal justice, according to her online obituary. She also was active in the school's Dance Society Program.
"Hannah had a deep desire to help those around her and try to make everyone happy," the obituary said.
According to the complaint:
A police officer on the scene said Anderson displayed classic signs of intoxication: slurred speech, watery and bloodshot eyes, disorientation and slow movements.
A man driving south on Hwy. 61 moments before the crash said he saw a pickup truck heading toward him in the same lane. He said he flashed his headlights and honked in hopes of alerting the driver that he was traveling the wrong way. The man then made a U-turn in pursuit of the pickup, which soon crashed into the car.
Goman was thrown from her car and landed about 10 yards from the intersection. She died at the hospital.
The car's driver and another passenger survived their injuries. Anderson and his passenger were not hurt.
Authorities arrested the suspect on Wednesday and charged him on Friday.
