Unlicensed driver admits to purposely swerving on country road in southern Minnesota, crashing and killing passenger

A 19-year-old unlicensed driver has admitted to purposely swerving on a country road in southern Minnesota, crashing and killing one of his four passengers.

Dominik Nikko Boots-Ringoen pleaded guilty in Freeborn County District Court last week to criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the crash in August near Albert Lea that killed James J. Amarosa III, 17, of Albert Lea, and severely injured passenger Cameron M. Cunningham, who was 15 at the time, of Twin Lakes, Minn. Two other teenage passengers were slightly hurt.

The plea agreement calls for Boots-Ringoen to spend a year in jail, with credit for the 3 ½ months he served after his arrest, followed by 10 years of probation. A prison term of nearly five years will be stayed.

Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 7, when Judge Steven Schwab will decide whether to accept the terms of the plea agreement reached by defense attorney John Hamer and the prosecution.

"We agreed that drifting with unbelted passengers combined with his inexperience as a driver, a small amount of alcohol, and unfamiliarity with the car he was driving was grossly negligent," Hamer said. "We hope the judge accepts our recommendation for a downward departure [from state sentencing guidelines] and that the victims, their families and my client and his family can all begin to heal."

On Aug. 27, sheriff's deputies arrived about 7:30 p.m. near Glenville Beach and saw the car had hit a tree. One deputy detected tracks in the gravel road that appeared to be marks made by "drifting," created when a driver oversteers and sends the vehicle sideways, the criminal complaint read. Boots-Ringoen's license was revoked at the time of the crash, according to state records.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482