Charges: Pedestrian ‘went high in the sky’ after suspect fatally hit her with car

Prosecutors allege a man was driving 80 mph through a north Minneapolis intersection when he hit and killed a pedestrian early Wednesday morning.

Court records show 31-year-old Tiwan Darnell Puller of St. Paul is charged with one count of criminal vehicular homicide in connection with a crash that killed 21-year-old Alexandra Joyce Renee Perkins of Minneapolis.

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A criminal complaint alleges Puller was driving a BMW southbound on Interstate 94 around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday when he rear-ended a Volkswagen before speeding off “about 80 miles an hour” and taking the exit ramp to Broadway Avenue West.

Puller drove through a yellow light at Broadway and hit Perkins, who was standing at the intersection, the complaint states. He then continued onto the ramp back onto I-94 before crashing into a concrete barrier and a metal guardrail.

Troopers with the Minnesota State Patrol responding to the crash saw Puller fall out of the passenger side of the BMW. Prosecutors say Puller then addressed a trooper who approached him.

“I f—ed up, sir,” Puller said. “I hit somebody. She is over there and I think she is dead.”

According to the complaint, Puller admitted to speeding through the intersection and hitting someone at the beginning of the ramp onto I-94, sending the victim “high in the sky.” Perkins was pronounced dead at the scene.

The trooper allegedly smelled marijuana and alcohol on Puller and noted that he had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. Puller was also driving with a revoked license, the complaint states.

A blood sample was obtained from Puller through a search warrant, and the results of the blood draw are still pending. Troopers also found “a large bag of marijuana” outside the passenger door of the BMW.

Puller remains in custody at the Hennepin County Jail on $150,000 bail. He is due to appear in court Friday afternoon.