Woman pleads guilty in Bloomington crash that killed teenage pedestrian
Mikala Jean Ness (Hennepin County Jail)
An Oakdale woman has pleaded guilty to three criminal charges in connection to a crash early this year that killed a teenage pedestrian in Bloomington.
Court records show 27-year-old Mikala Jean Ness pleaded guilty to charges of criminal vehicular homicide and one count of criminal vehicular operation on Monday.
RELATED: Driver charged in deadly Bloomington crash involving teenage pedestrian
Those charges stem from a crash near 78th Street and 12th Avenue on Jan. 27 that killed 17-year-old Donald Earl Gayton Jr. and seriously hurt the teen’s 14-year-old sister.
According to court documents, Ness later told police she was coming from a holiday party and, when asked about hitting the pedestrians, said, “I feel like I did, but I don’t know.”
A witness told officers the vehicle that hit Gayton and the other teen was going at a high rate of speed. Ness was arrested after her vehicle crashed into a median near Mall of America and she allegedly told someone at that scene that she hit two people, a criminal complaint states.
The criminal vehicular homicide charges carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. Her sentencing is set for Sept. 21.