Jury trial scheduled for woman accused of killing 1 in high-speed DWI crash

By KSTP

April Fayth Oleary (Hennepin County Jail)

Online court records show a jury trial has been scheduled for an Otsego woman accused of killing one person and injuring two others in a three-vehicle crash last fall.

According to case records, the trial for 22-year-old April Oleary will begin on the morning of Aug. 22.

Oleary was initially charged with three counts of criminal vehicular homicide and three counts of criminal vehicular operation for driving under the influence and causing substantial bodily harm.

However, an amended complaint was filed Monday, and she is now charged with:

Criminal Vehicular Homicide – Operate Motor Vehicle in Grossly Negligent Manner
Criminal Vehicular Homicide – Operate Vehicle with Negligence – Under Influence of Alcohol
Criminal Vehicular Homicide – Operate Motor Vehicle with Alcohol Concentration of 0.08 or More
Criminal Vehicular Operation – Great Bodily Harm – Gross Negligence
Criminal Vehicular Operation – Great Bodily Harm – Under Influence of Alcohol
Criminal Vehicular Operation – Great Bodily Harm – Alcohol Concentration of 0.08 or More

Oleary entered not guilty pleas to all of the charges.

Police were called to the 15500 block of County Road 81 in Maple Grove at 4:30 a.m. on Sept. 12, 2021, after receiving an accident alert from a car alarm company.

When they arrived, officers found three vehicles involved in the crash. A Volvo S60 and Jeep Grand Cherokee were on the road and both had severe front-end damage, according to a criminal complaint.

The third car, a Toyota Sienna, had rolled into a ditch and had major front-end and driver’s side damage. The Sienna’s driver, pinned inside the car, was declared dead at the scene. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office later identified the victim as 67-year-old Phousalinh Khounpanya, of Dayton.

A 31-year-old man was pinned in the driver’s seat of the Jeep, the complaint says. His left leg was crushed with his femur suffering a compound fracture. Police applied a tourniquet as he was bleeding. His foot was stuck under a pedal and he had to be extricated by the fire department.

Oleary was in the Volvo, visibly intoxicated, and told police she rear-ended the Jeep but didn’t know that a third car was involved in the crash, the complaint states. She called 911 after seeing the Jeep’s driver “gasping for air.” Oleary was not injured.

At the scene, Oleary blew a 0.19 blood-alcohol concentration and was arrested, the complaint states. At 9:19 a.m., with a search warrant, Oleary had her blood drawn, which the investigators found to contain a 0.11 BAC and evidence of THC.

A Minnesota State Patrol crash reconstruction revealed that Oleary was driving westbound on County Road 81 at 124 mph seconds before rear-ending the Jeep. The speed limit is 55 mph. The Jeep then crossed into the eastbound lane and hit the Toyota, sending it rolling into a ditch. Oleary’s car struck the Jeep again as both cars came to rest, the complaint says.