ST. PETER — A St. Peter motorist is accused of being under the influence of alcohol and speeding when he crashed a vehicle on Highway 169 in 2023, causing life-threatening injuries to a passenger.
Chane Eugene Larson, 49, was charged with four felonies for criminal vehicular operation and two gross misdemeanors for DWI and driving without a license Friday in Nicollet County District Court.
The incident on May 7 in Nicollet County involved a vehicle crashing into a median, according to a criminal complaint. The passenger, identified as James Carl Nielsen, 53, of North Mankato, in a State Patrol crash report at the time, reportedly sustained several bone fractures, pulmonary and cardiac contusions, a traumatic brain injury, a lacerated liver and had to have his spleen removed, among other injuries and required medical treatments.
A State Patrol reconstruction estimated the vehicle was going 82 to 99 mph before it hit the median. Larson had a .162 blood alcohol content during a preliminary breath test, according to the complaint.
Officers reported arriving to the scene to find no one in the driver’s seat of the vehicle and Larson in the backseat. The complaint states Larson denied driving the vehicle and said he didn’t know who had been driving it.
The officers noted Larson had burn marks on his face, reportedly consistent with injuries caused by the deployment of an airbag. Larson also sustained cracked shoulder blades, ribs and vertebrae, and a concussion.
After someone told police Larson and the victim had been drinking at her residence before the crash, Larson confirmed he had driven there but continued to deny he drove afterward. He allegedly claimed a friend of the victim’s drove but wasn’t sure of their name.
Two people told police they saw the driver of the vehicle get out of the driver’s seat and move into the backseat after the crash. They identified Larson out of a photo array, the complaint states.
Another person who approached the vehicle after the crash said she saw a man partially in the backseat with his legs still in the front seat. Police also spoke to a person who confirmed Larson had recently bought the vehicle but hadn’t registered it. Larson had a canceled license, according to the complaint.
An initial appearance in the case against Larson is set for March 4.
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