Hoyt Lakes man sentenced to supervision for 2021 New Brighton crash

A Hoyt Lakes man will be on supervised probation after being convicted of one count of criminal vehicular operation – substantial bodily harm – alcohol concentration of .08 or more.

Thomas Napier, 79, was initially ordered to serve one year at the Ramsey County Correctional Facility, and was also ordered to serve two years of supervised probation for the misdemeanor charge. However, online records show a judge stayed the jail sentence, and he will only serve the two years of supervision.

Napier was charged after a crash in New Brighton in June 2021 that injured a then-58-year-old woman identified in the complaint as KP. The crash caused the woman’s vehicle to spin around and crash into a home.

A complaint states the woman reported she had no memory of the crash, and had a subarachnoid hemorrhage, causing her to be hospitalized for two days.

The complaint goes on to say the crash happened as Napier was fleeing authorities. Police had been notified of a black Jeep Cherokee with a flat tire shortly before 2:30 p.m. that afternoon, and tried to pull the vehicle over.

However, the vehicle, driven by Napier, eventually stopped, but then started up again. Napier then drove through a residential neighborhood and then go on Old Highway 8, before he crashed into a large box truck and another vehicle, driven by KP.

Officers said in the complaint Napier smelled “strongly” of alcohol, and a breath test showed his blood alcohol level was 0.13.

While being interviewed, Napier said he didn’t remember his driving conduct, and was arrested after pulling into a parking spot to go into a store. The complaint states he admitted he drank alcohol at his sister’s Mounds View home.