Crime & Safety
Driver Charged in Fatal Crash That Killed Rural Northfield Teen
Authorities say the crash happened when the driver lost control of his car at 96 miles per hour.
This story is written by Zac Farber
A 17-year-old Burnsville boy has been charged with vehicular homicide in the deaths of two Lakeville Area Learning Center students—including one teen from rural Northfield—in an August 2012 car crash, the Dakota County Attorney's Office said Wednesday morning.
On Aug. 21, 2012, the Burnsville teen was driving his car 96 miles per hour on Buck Hill Road, weaving back and forth while accelerating, when he lost control of the vehicle, which spun 180 degrees before tumbling six or seven times end-over-end down a hill, coming to a rest on southbound I-35.
Frederick Jeffrey Alexander, 16, of Burnsville and Alesha Katherine Roehl, 17, of rural Northfield were sitting in the back without seat belts. They were thrown clear of the car; Alexander died at the scene, and Roehl died that evening after being airlifted to the Hennepin County Medical Center. A 16-year-old Lakeville boy and another 17-year-old Burnsville boy were also injured in the crash.
The 17-year-old driver has been charged with two felony counts of criminal vehicular homicide involving gross negligence, one felony count of criminal vehicular operation and one gross misdemeanor count of criminal vehicular operation.
He told police that he thought it would be fun to swerve back and forth while driving and that he must have hit the gas pedal instead of the brake before he lost control of the car. The boy had received the car just four or five days before the crash. The front-seat passenger told him to slow down before the crash.
“This case appears to be an example of how quickly an inexperienced driver can lose control of a vehicle if speeding and driving recklessly," Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said in a statement. "This also underscores the importance for all persons in a vehicle to wear a seatbelt. Our deepest sympathy is extended to the families and friends of Frederick Alexander and Alesha Roehl for their great loss.”
The case is being filed under Minnesota’s extended juvenile jurisdiction statute. If convicted, the teen will receive a stayed adult prison sentence and remain in the juvenile court system until age 21.
Click on the headlines below to read more about last year's crash:
• Two Teens Die, Three Hurt in Crash
• Friends, Loved Ones of I-35 Crash Victims Return to Makeshift Memorial
