Charges: Driver who fatally hit 8-year-old bicyclist had meth in system

A Shakopee man has been charged in connection to a crash in August that killed an 8-year-old girl who was riding her bike.

Joseph Ray Jacobson, 47, is charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide in connection to the Aug. 22 crash.

RELATED: 8-year-old hit, killed while biking in Prior Lake; driver arrested

It happened shortly before 8 p.m. at the intersection of Dakota Trail and Orion Road in Prior Lake.

The girl’s mother told police the girl, previously identified by the Medical Examiner’s Office as Chyanne Rios, wanted to ride her bike to a nearby convenience store. The mother agreed to allow Chyanne to bike to the store but followed her in a car to watch her.

However, as Chyanne crossed the intersection, a GMC Denali ran a stop sign and hit her, documents say. She was taken to a hospital but died from her injuries a few hours later.

The driver of the Denali, identified as Jacobson, told officers “the child came out of nowhere” as he was stopped at the stop sign. When asked if he was using his cellphone when the crash happened, he replied, “I think I was,” the criminal complaint states.

Surveillance video showed the Denali never even slowed at the stop sign, according to the complaint. Additionally, a blood draw was taken and showed Jacobson had meth in his system.

As of Tuesday, Jacobson wasn’t in custody. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.