Man sentenced to more than 3 years in prison for fatal 2022 drunken driving crash

A man who entered a guilty plea to one count of criminal vehicular homicide earlier this year will be spending time in prison and pay tens of thousands of dollars in restitution.

On Tuesday, 20-year-old Daniel Lohse, of Willmar, was sentenced to 41 months in the St. Cloud prison by Judge Melissa Listug, who allowed Lohse to have five days of credit for time already served. In addition, he must pay more than $67,800 in restitution on to of other fines and fees.

A plea agreement filed in late May showed in exchange for his guilty plea, one count of criminal vehicular homicide by operating a vehicle with negligence, two counts of criminal vehicular operation, two counts of DWI and one count of underage drinking and driving were dismissed.

Lohse was charged for a July 2022 crash in Lake Andrew Township that killed 52-year-old Dalia Zuniga, of Willmar. As previously reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, authorities said Lohse was driving drunk at the time of the crash, which happened when his pick-up truck hit a Chevrolet Malibu head-on shortly before 2:30 a.m. The crash also left a passenger in the Malibu injured.

According to a criminal complaint, the first officer at the scene noted heavy damage to both vehicles and believed it was a “very violent collision.”

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When first responders talked with Lohse, they noted an “extremely strong odor of alcoholic beverage,” the complaint states, with detectives describing the smell as “overwhelming.”

Lohse, who was found hanging in his vehicle by the seat belt, had to be extricated and, as he was cut out, told the firefighters, “I’m drunk” and “I’m wasted,” according to the complaint. He also had trouble telling one of the firefighters his name, saying he was “just f***ing drunk.”

Law enforcement also found marijuana buds in Lohse’s GMC but he denied using it before the crash. However, the complaint states he did say he’d had delta-8 THC with his alcohol before driving and noted it was the first time he’d paired delta-8 with alcohol.

Troopers at the scene didn’t find any signs of braking from the vehicles, according to the complaint.

The passenger in the Malibu told authorities he’d been drinking that night and Zuniga, who hadn’t been drinking, was driving him home. He added that he remembers seeing Lohse’s GMC coming at them in their lane and Zuniga had swerved in an attempt to avoid the GMC but they still collided.