19-year-old Driver Fatally Strikes Pedestrian, Dog in Plymouth
A 19-year-old Delano, Minn., man is charged with criminal vehicular homicide after allegedly speeding through a Plymouth street, striking a pedestrian and a dog and leaving the scene of the crash Wednesday night.
Police found the 65-year-old male victim lying in a driveway on the 17200 block of Co. Rd. 24 just before 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 28, with the victim’s dog lying dead about 100 feet away.
Several hours after the crash, police arrested Jack Henry Blaschke, 19, and booked him into the Hennepin County Jail early Thursday morning. Court records for Blaschke show two prior petty misdemeanors for speeding in 2020.
According to documents filed in court, witnesses said Blaschke was stopped at a red light on Co. Rd. 24 just before 9 p.m. when he allegedly honked three times at a neighboring driver, apparently indicating an intention to race the other driver.
Blaschke sped off, reaching over 70 mph, according to the charges, before striking the pedestrian and his black Labrador retriever. Witnesses said the pedestrian was thrown several feet before he landed in a driveway and the dog was found dead around 100 feet away from the victim.
The man was transported to the hospital but later died of “massive internal injuries,” the charges say.
When officers found Blaschke hours later, he told them he was driving around 40 mph when he came around a curve and the man and his dog were “right there in front of him,” the charges allege. He panicked and drove to a friend’s house instead of staying at the scene of the crash, he told police.
Blaschke was charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide: one for leaving the scene of a fatal crash and another charge for operating a vehicle in a grossly negligent manner. If convicted, he could face 20 years in prison and/or a combined $40,000 fine.
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