A 20-year-old motorist who struck and killed an 84-year-old pedestrian in St. Cloud this week was charged in Stearns County District Court Friday with leaving the scene of a fatal crash.
Jeremiah Markus Brown, who has a Minneapolis address, was driving westbound on 1st Avenue North in downtown St. Cloud on Wednesday when he struck Mohammed Aga Intale, 84, of St. Cloud, who was walking northbound in or near the crosswalk, police said.
According to the criminal complaint, witnesses saw Brown driving through a green light when he struck Intale in the crosswalk near the intersection of 5th Avenue about 3 p.m. Witnesses told police Brown got out of the car and looked at Intale before driving off. Intale was taken to the St. Cloud Hospital, where he died.
Police found Brown at a nearby home and arrested him. Brown told police that Intale had run out in front of him while he drove through the green light and he didn't know what to do, briefly checking on him before panicking and driving off.
The felony charge against Brown carries a maximum sentence of three years in jail and/or a $5,000 fine.
So far this year, 30 pedestrians have been killed in Minnesota, part of the 331 traffic deaths statewide.
