Charges: Wrong-Way Driver Causes Head-On Crash That Kills 20-year-old
An image shared on Facebook of 20-year-old Hannah Goman who was killed in a crash in Winona Saturday morning.
The Minnesota State Patrol is investigating a head-on crash that claimed the life of 20-year-old Hannah Goman, of Stevens Point, WI, and injured two others she was riding in a vehicle with. 21-year-old Nicholas Lemmerond and 22-year-old Natalie Carlson, both of Oshkosh, WI, suffered non-life-threatening injuries after the crash.
The crash happened around 12:45 a.m. on Saturday morning.
According to the Minnesota State Patrol, a 2015 Chevy Silverado driven by 35-year-old Adam Anderson of Winona was traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of Highway 61.
The Chevy and the Toyota Camry that Lemmerond was driving collided head-on at the intersection of Highway 61 and Highway 43 in Winona.
Goman, Lemmerond, and Carlson were all taken to Winona Hospital, where Goman later died. Anderson and his passenger were not injured in the crash.
Charges were filed on Monday against Anderson, which include one felony charge of criminal vehicular homicide and one gross misdemeanor charge of criminal vehicular operation. Anderson faces up to 10 years in prison on the felony charge.
According to the criminal complaint, Winona police officers were advised of a wrong-way driver on Highway 61, traveling northbound in the southbound lanes. A few moments later, an officer saw the vehicle go through the intersection at Highway 61 & Highway 43 at a high rate of speed before striking a Toyota Camry. The Chevy rolled over and landed in the ditch, while the Camry landed near a stoplight at the intersection.
Officers went to check on both vehicles. They found Anderson and his passenger upside down in the vehicle. Neither were wearing seatbelts and both were able to crawl out of the vehicle. Officers could smell a strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle, and Anderson had bloodshot and watery eyes, the charges say. Anderson was also said to be disoriented and had slurred speech.
When an officer went to check on the occupants of the Camry, the driver and front passenger were exiting the vehicle. The driver was bleeding from the head and the passenger was uninjured. The driver indicated that the backseat passenger, now identified as Goman, had been ejected from the vehicle, despite wearing her seatbelt. An officer found Goman, who was unresponsive, about 10 yards away from the crash scene. She later died at the hospital.
Officers reported the Camry had severe damage to the back driver’s side and that the impact had sheered the door away and disconnected the bumper.
After the crash, a Minnesota State Trooper advised Anderson he wanted to perform field sobriety tests. Anderson then began to complain of pain in his neck area. The trooper tried to administer a preliminary breath test to Anderson, but he refused, saying he “probably shouldn’t,” according to the complaint.
Anderson was taken to Winona Health where a warrant was obtained for a blood sample. Anderson refused, attempting explain to the officer that it was against his religion to have his blood drawn because he was a Christian. Eventually, after six law enforcement officers were present, they were able to restrain Anderson enough to take a blood sample. Those results are not available yet.
Anderson’s next court appearance is scheduled for March 2nd. He’s being held in the Winona County Detention Center and bail was set at $200,000 with no conditions.
According to Goman’s Facebook page, she was attending Winona State University pursuing a degree in social work. She was also active in a dance club while on campus. The Winona State Dance Team wrote that its performance on Saturday evening called “Dancescape” was being dedicated to Goman to “honor a life lost too soon.”
A fundraiser organized for the Goman family has raised over $15,000 in one day.