Man Accused of Fleeing Fatal Sherburne County Crash, Driving Drunk
A 23-year-old man Zimmerman man has been charged with vehicular homicide and two counts of criminal vehicular operation after he was allegedly driving drunk and left the scene of a crash that killed one person and injured two others.
Minnesota State Troopers were called to a crash with injuries on Highway 169 near 305th Avenue Northwest in Sherburne County around 1:07 p.m. Saturday, June 3. When troopers arrived, they located a blue Honda Civic in the west ditch. Troopers determined the vehicle had struck multiple trees in the ditch, causing the roof to rip off the vehicle and the driver to be ejected.
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The driver of the Civic, Kelvin Oriel Gomez-Landero, of Honduras, was pronounced deceased at the scene. Two passengers were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
According to witnesses, the driver of a green Chevy Corvette had caused the crash and fled the scene. While troopers were investigating the crash, the driver of the Corvette, Kyle Christopher Flor, 23, of Zimmerman, returned to the scene and told troopers that he had attempted to merge from the left lane to the right. Flor stated the Honda must have been in his blind spot and denied knowing that a crash had occurred, but a citizen who was following him alerted him to the crash, according to court documents.
While Flor was speaking with Troopers, they noticed an odor of alcohol and initiated field sobriety tests. Troopers say Flor appeared impaired and administered a preliminary breath test, which yielded a result of .094. Flor was taken into custody and blood draw results are pending.
Flor’s passenger told Troopers that he and Flor had just left a golf course when the crash happened. The passenger said Flor switched gears and the Corvette jumped to the right, striking the Civic. The passenger said he didn’t see the car go into the ditch, but stated he told Flor to pull over several times, but Flor continued driving, saying he wanted to go home and get his truck.
One witness to the crash told troopers that Flor was driving at a high rate of speed and weaving in and out of traffic. Another witness said that Flor was swerving all over the road before he struck the Civic.
Flor faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted on the most serious charge. He is currently being held in the Sherburne County Jail on $100,000 bond and set to appear in court on June 10.
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