Prison for man who was drunk, high when he caused wrong-way crash on Hwy. 169 that killed woman

A Minneapolis man received a four-year term Thursday for being drunk and high while driving on the wrong side of the highway in Scott County, hitting an oncoming SUV and killing a passenger and seriously injuring two others.

Michael M. Morse, 35, was sentenced in Scott County District Court after pleading guilty to one count of criminal vehicular homicide and two counts of criminal vehicular operation in connection with the crash on May 22, 2022, that killed 19-year-old Arianna M. Vos of Hutchinson, Minn.

With credit for time in jail after his arrest, Morse is expected to serve the first 2⅔ years in prison and the balance on supervised release.

Vos arrived by ambulance from the crash scene at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis and was declared dead about 90 minutes after the collision on southbound Hwy. 169 at Delaware Avenue, the charges said.

The driver of the SUV, 22-year-old Cassidy N. Martin, of Gaylord, Minn., needed a metal rod implanted to repair a broken leg, according to the charges. Rear-seat passenger Alyssa L. Grutt, 21, of Hutchinson required the same procedure for a broken leg. Grutt also suffered a lacerated liver, lung bruises and abdominal injuries.

Vos was a Hutchinson High School classmate of Grutt's and worked with Martin at a FedEx facility in Mankato, Vos' mother said. DeeDee Vos said her daughter and the others were returning from the Twin Cities after a night at an 18-and-older club.

Arianna Vos had just finished her sophomore year at Minnesota State Mankato, where she was studying zoology, her mother said.

According to the criminal complaint:

A state trooper arrived before 3:30 a.m. at the crash scene and detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from Morse. Morse said he had three mixed drinks about 30 to 45 minutes before driving his SUV north in the southbound lanes.

A preliminary breath test measured Morse's blood alcohol content at 0.113%, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in court. That level is nearly 1 ½ times above the legal limit for driving in Minnesota.

The trooper removed suspected marijuana from Morse's pocket and various drug paraphernalia. Morse also admitted smoking marijuana before driving, the charges read.

The charges did not specify where Morse had been drinking, but a personal injury lawsuit filed in March by the surviving women and Vos' family revealed that Morse was being served alcohol that night at the Neisen's Red Door Bar and Johan's Bar & Grill, both in Belle Plaine.

Morse was "sold intoxicating beverages ... after he was already in a state of obvious intoxication," the suit alleges. Both establishments filed denials of any wrongdoing associated with the crash.