A Rochester-area man has been charged with criminal vehicular homicide in connection with a fatal 2021 collision attributed to distracted driving.
Investigators say Eric Wittlief, 22, of Oronoco, had been sending and receiving messages on Snapchat on the afternoon of Aug. 5, 2021, when his truck crossed the centerline of Hwy. 14 in Winona County and collided head-on with an oncoming sedan.
The passenger of the sedan, Christ G. Brown, 58, of Stockton, Minn., was airlifted to Gundersen Hospital in La Crosse, Wis., where he died the next day from blunt-force injuries.
Wittlief, who was bloodied and unconscious when troopers arrived, was airlifted to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester.
The driver of the sedan, who was also seriously injured in the crash, told officers that she had attempted to swerve out of the way, but was unable to avoid being hit head-on by the truck.
A reconstruction of the crash site confirmed Wittlief’s failure to stay in his lane caused the collision, the criminal complaint says.
A search of his phone revealed he had been active on social media while driving, including sending and receiving multiple Snapchat messages within minutes of the crash being reported.
Wittlief will make his first court appearance on May 14. The charge of criminal vehicular homicide carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.
