A motorist admitted to drinking 11 shots of liquor in the hours leading up to when he ran over and killed a woman before dawn last week in Blaine, according to authorities.
Matt W. Hastreiter, 42, of Lexington, was charged Monday in Anoka County District Court with criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the death Friday of Sheryl Ann Miller, 52, of Blaine.
Hastreiter remains jailed in lieu of $25,000 bail ahead of a Jan. 7 court appearance. Court records do not list an attorney for him.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police arrived shortly after 6 a.m. at the scene of the crash, Naples Street just south of Lake Drive, and saw Miller down in the road and mortally injured. The motorist who hit her was stopped nearby.
Hastreiter, smelling of alcohol, told police that he had eight shots of vodka the night before and another three in the morning.
Police administered a field sobriety tests, failing both the one-leg stand, and walking and turning. A preliminary breath test measured his blood alcohol content at 0.117%, above the legal limit for driving in Minnesota.
Miller was walking to work at the time she was hit, daughter-in-law Brooke Miller wrote on a Facebook fundraising page the night of the crash.
"Sheryl was a strong, caring soul that would, no matter the weather or funds, she would find a way to make sure [everyone] was taken care of," Brooke Miller wrote. "She is the heart and soul of the Miller family. Life will not be the same without Sheryl."
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
