Woman trying to 'end all' charged in crash that killed Bloomington city worker
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A 24-year-old Richfield woman has been charged for killing one Bloomington city worker and injuring another when she drove her car into their truck at 80 mph.
Marie Jessica Hall faces felony charges of third-degree murder, criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation causing great bodily harm for the Jan. 28 incident.
Tyler Lenort, 38, died three days after the crash from his injuries. Daryl Bittmann, 56, suffered a traumatic brain injury in the crash and is currently in satisfactory conditions at Hennepin County Medical Center, according to a hospital spokesperson.
Hall told police who interviewed her after the accident that she was distraught over personal issues in her life. Officers said she went behind the counter at her former workplace shortly after 10 a.m., grabbed two bottles of vodka and threw cash into the air as she walked out. Hall told police that she opened one of the bottles in the business' driveway and drank the equivalent of four or five shots.
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Hall confirmed that she was driving at speeds of about 100 mph on American Boulevard before the accident. She told police that she was driving to "end all," because of a statement she said she read in the Bible: "You must die by the flesh to get to Heaven."
The two city workers had just finished removing snow from the sidewalk on American Boulevard near the intersection of Fifth Avenue South when Hall's car rear-ended the city of Bloomington Ford F-350 they were driving, causing the large truck to spin around 180 degrees.
Investigators say the computer on Hall's car confirms that she was driving about 80 mph when she hit the truck.
The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is testing Hall's blood alcohol concentration at the time of the accident, according to the charges.
Hall is being held in Hennepin County Jail, according to county records. She's scheduled to appear in court on Friday afternoon.