Officials have released the identity of a 76-year-old pedestrian who was hit by a suspected drunken pickup truck driver Dec. 8 in Minneapolis and died on the day after Christmas.
Einar M. Pikkarainen, of Minneapolis, was struck by the pickup at about 5:50 p.m. roughly two blocks from his home near E. 34th Street and S. 1st Avenue, read a report released Wednesday by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office and court records.
Pikkarainen suffered a severe injury to the back of his head and died shortly before 3:30 p.m. Dec. 26, the Examiner's Office said.
The driver, 63-year-old David C. Johnson, of Minneapolis, was arrested sitting next to his pickup, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in court seeking permission to test Johnson's blood for intoxication.
A preliminary breath test at the scene measured his blood alcohol content at 0.09%, above the legal limit for driving in Minnesota, the affidavit said.
Johnson told police that he didn't see Pikkarainen and acknowledged "having several beers" shortly before the crash, the filing read.
Johnson was booked into jail that night and released about 24 hours later without charges as the investigation continues. A message was left Thursday with Johnson seeking his response to the allegations.
Court records show that Johnson was convicted in Hennepin County in 2016 for a drunken-driving offense in Minneapolis.
