A 29-year-old man was sentenced to six months in jail for driving drunk in Eagan and killing his friend in a crash about 1 1⁄2 years ago.
Michael J. Coombes, 29, of South St. Paul, was sentenced Wednesday in Dakota County District Court after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the wreck on Dec. 22, 2021, that killed Michael W. Renlund, 43, of Burnsville.
Judge Tim Wermager set aside a prison term of 4 1⁄2 years and put Coombes on probation for 10 years. The prison time could be imposed if Coombes violates any terms of his probation, which include being treated for chemical dependency and abstaining from alcohol.
Law enforcement tested Coombes' blood alcohol content a little more than two hours after the crash and measured it at 0.105%, above the legal limit for driving in Minnesota, the criminal complaint read.
According to the complaint:
Police were sent to Slater Road near Metcalf Drive about 2:25 a.m. Dec. 22 to find a car had crashed head-on into a tree in a residential yard.
Renlund, unconscious and not breathing, was trapped in the passenger seat. He died at the scene.
Coombes told police he was driving from a house party and misjudged a right-hand curve on Slater at 40 to 45 miles per hour. The car hit mailboxes and then the tree.
Coombes said he had three beers and two shots before driving Renlund's car. An autopsy revealed that Renlund was extremely intoxicated at the time of the crash.
