Complaint: Pedestrian killed by 18-year-old woman who was racing another vehicle

A Mankato woman has been charged with criminal vehicular homicide after allegedly racing another car and hitting a pedestrian in Mankato.

Kaylee Lynette Richmond, 18, was charged with one count of criminal vehicular homicide on Tuesday.

Officials from the Mankato Department of Public Safety (DPS) were called to the intersection of Madison Avenue and Hope Street at 9:30 p.m. on a report of a serious car crash, according to a criminal complaint.

The complaint noted a white Nissan Altima with a warped hood in an upright position and a shattered front windshield was stopped in the eastbound lane of traffic when officers arrived at the scene. A large streak of blood was observed across the top of the car.

Officers say Richmond, who was identified as the driver of the Nissan, was sobbing and hyperventilating south of the roadway. She told officers she was racing another car eastbound on Madison Avenue when she hit the victim in the road.

The victim, identified in a Minnesota State Patrol incident report as 66-year-old Jeffery Allie Ward of Mankato, died at the scene.

Richmond told officers “the other car should be in trouble too… he was trying to race me” and “I like going fast and he was trying to race me.” She said she looked over at the car she was racing and when she looked back “there was a guy in front of me.”

A witness who saw the crash from their patio reported hearing a loud sound and seeing a dark car that “tore off” eastbound.

A Minnesota State Patrol crash reconstruction specialist said Richmond was likely going 70 to 75 miles per hour at the time of the crash. The speed limit in that area of Madison Avenue is 35 miles per hour.

Richmond had a bail hearing at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, where a judge set her bail at $100,000 with no conditions and $20,000 with conditions. Her next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 24.