A 22-year-old Park Rapids, Minn., motorist was sentenced to a month in jail for a street-racing incident last July that forced the driver of the other vehicle into a deadly rollover.
The sentence by Hubbard County District Judge Paul Rasmussen gave Dakota P. Walsh credit for 13 days already served, leaving him with 17 days yet to be served for his role in the death northwest of Park Rapids of Avery J. Mikel, 19, of nearby Nevis. The crash occurred July 23, but Mikel's body wasn't found until the next morning. Walsh told police he panicked after the crash and fled.
Walsh also was placed on four years' supervised probation, which includes requirements that he abstain from alcohol and illicit drugs, stay out of bars and liquor stores, complete chemical dependency treatment and submit to random testing.
As part of Walsh's plea agreement, the most serious felony charges were dismissed: criminal vehicular homicide and counts of leaving the scene and failing to notify police of the crash.
He pleaded guilty to driving without insurance, a misdemeanor, and won a stay of adjudication on a misdemeanor drunken-driving charge, meaning it will be dismissed if he complies with terms of his probation.
Mikel graduated from Nevis High School in 2015 and was a member of the Minnesota Army National Guard at the time of his death. He was discovered about 6:25 a.m., hours after the crash, and was declared dead at the scene.
Paul Walsh
