Man pleads guilty to being under influence of meth when he hit and killed woman at I-94 exit

A man who was scheduled to go on trial this week chose to plead guilty to being under the influence of illicit drugs and alcohol when he struck and killed a woman at an interstate exit late at night in Minneapolis.

Tiwan D. Puller, 31, of St. Paul, admitted in Hennepin County District Court to criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the 3:30 a.m. crash Sept. 14 at Interstate 94 and West Broadway that killed Alexandra Joyce Renee Perkins, 21, of Hopkins.

Puller received a five-year sentence. With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Puller is expected to serve 3 ¹⁄₃ years in prison and the balance on supervised release.

Prosecutors said Puller was driving that night after the state had revoked his license. Apart from this case, court records show his driving history in Minnesota includes convictions for a hit-and-run crash that caused property damage, illegal passing, driving 52 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone, and driving after his license was revoked.

At the time of the crash, Puller was serving five years' probation from a 2019 illegal weapons conviction in Ramsey County. Terms of his probation included that he remain law-abiding and not use drugs or alcohol.

According to the complaint:

Puller struck another car from behind while heading south on I-94 in Minneapolis, then sped off at 80 miles per hour. He soon exited at West Broadway and hit Perkins, "who was standing at the intersection" on a sidewalk, the complaint read.

Puller left Perkins behind, got on the entrance ramp to resume heading south on I-94 but hit a concrete barrier and a metal pole. He walked up the ramp and tried to get in the car he hit earlier, which also had exited at West Broadway. State Patrol troopers arrived and saw Puller fall out of the passenger side of his car.

During the conversation, the trooper detected strong odors of marijuana and alcohol coming from Puller, whose speech was slurred. He also was having difficulty making sense while speaking, and his movements were especially slow.

Law enforcement testing of his blood showed methamphetamine and cannabis in his system, as well as a blood alcohol content of 0.04%.

Troopers found Perkins in the grass, several feet from the sidewalk where she had been standing at the time she was hit. Emergency medical personnel declared her dead at the scene.