A Victoria woman is charged with criminal vehicular homicide after allegedly driving the wrong way on Highway 212 and killing a Hopkins man in a head-on crash Saturday night.
The suspect was on probation for a prior DWI conviction at the time and her license was revoked, court documents show.
Amanda Lyn Merriman, 50, is charged in Hennepin County with criminal vehicular homicide for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.
At about 7:50 p.m. on April 11, Eden Prairie police officers and Minnesota State Patrol troopers responded to a report of a truck traveling the wrong direction on westbound Highway 212 near Prairie Center Drive in Eden Prairie. Shortly after, a head-on collision was reported between the wrong-way driver and another vehicle.
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Officers and troopers arrived and found Merriman’s 2017 Chevrolet Colorado pickup crashed into a 2014 Volkswagen Passat. The driver of the Passat, Bohdan Antoniuk, 69, of Hopkins, sustained catastrophic injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers noted the odor of alcohol coming from Merriman.
She admitted consuming two vodka cranberry drinks before driving and was transported to Hennepin Healthcare for treatment. A search warrant was obtained to collect a blood sample and results were still pending when the criminal complaint was filed.
After being advised of her Miranda rights at the hospital, Merriman said she was driving home from an establishment in River Falls, Wisc., to her home in Victoria, Minn. She said she had planned to attend a fundraiser there but ended up watching a hockey game instead.
Merriman said she drives Highway 212 weekly, that visibility and road conditions were fine and that she had her GPS mounted and providing directions. She said she perceived she was going to be in an accident 30 to 45 seconds before the collision and that she applied her brakes. She said she did not know she was traveling the wrong way. She said she preferred not to answer whether she had been drinking alcohol before the crash.
A search of her vehicle turned up a glass pipe used for consuming narcotics and a baggie of marijuana.
Court records and charging documents show the crash closely mirrors a July 2024 incident in which Merriman was found driving the wrong way on Highway 36 in Oak Park Heights in the early morning hours. She told officers during that stop that she had been following her GPS in trying to get back on the road.
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Merriman was convicted of that gross misdemeanor DWI in September 2025, sentenced to 30 days in a community work service program and placed on three years of supervised probation. A Washington County court issued a probation violation warrant just days after sentencing, in November 2025. That warrant was outstanding at the time of the Highway 212 crash.
Court records also show Merriman had a prior misdemeanor DWI conviction from December 2005 and an implied consent license revocation in 2019. Her Minnesota driver’s license was in a revoked status due to the 2024 DWI conviction at the time of the crash. She was also on probation for fifth-degree possession of methamphetamine.
Because Merriman has a prior qualified driving offense within the past 10 years, she faces an enhanced maximum penalty of 15 years in prison if convicted. Bail is set at $350,000 without conditions, or $250,000 with conditions including remote alcohol monitoring and probation supervision.
An omnibus hearing is set for May 13.
