Woman who hit, killed man near Nashwauk charged with criminal vehicular homicide

A woman has been charged with a felony after hitting and killing a man in Itasca County earlier this year.

Cynthia Arlene Martin, 64, has been charged with one count of criminal vehicular homicide, which holds a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a $20,000 fine or both.

A spokesperson confirmed that Martin is a volunteer chair with the 8th Congressional District but is not an employee with the state DFL.

As previously reported, on July 3 at around 11:18 p.m., police responded to the report of a body lying in a lane of traffic on westbound Highway 169 near Nashwauk. They found a man, later identified by the Minnesota State Patrol as 19-year-old Carter Haithcock, lying in the left lane of traffic.

He was later pronounced dead on the scene.

A witness told authorities he had to swerve to avoid Haithcock lying in the road. The witness stopped and called 911 and while the witness was on the phone with dispatch, another vehicle ran over Haithcock.

The person in the second vehicle stayed on scene and said they saw the first witness’s vehicle on the shoulder with its hazards on, so they switched lanes and hit the body before it was too late.

After investigating, officers determined another car hit Haithcock before the first witness came across the body. Officers identified the suspect vehicle as a 1999-2006 General Motors vehicle based on a part found at the scene.

On July 4, Martin called 911 and said she may have been involved in the accident near Nashwauk. She told officials that while she was driving home, she hit something with her car. She thought she hit an owl or turkey but didn’t stop.

Her vehicle was confirmed as a 2005 GMC Yukon.

A blood sample was taken by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) which came back negative.

The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy and determined Haithcock’s cause of death as “extensive blunt force injury.” A post-mortem toxicology report found a .054 BAC and the presence of THC in Haithcock’s system.

Multiple witnesses and surveillance video confirmed that Haithcock was in the Nashwauk street dance, and at around 10:50 p.m., he got into an argument with a former romantic partner. He said he was going to walk home and left the street dance. There were multiple calls between Haithcock and his ex, with the last one taking place at 11:15 p.m.

Martin told authorities she was talking on the phone at the time of the crash and the person she was talking to stated that Martin said, “Oh my god, I hit something.” Martin later called that person back and said something had only hit her windshield, so she didn’t call 911.

The Minnesota State Patrol inspected Martin’s car and noted there was extensive damage to the front of the vehicle.

Martin’s first court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 26.