Park Tavern deadly patio crash: Steven Bailey pleads guilty to murder
Steven Bailey pleads guilty to murder in Park Tavern crash
Steven Bailey will face between 25 and 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of third-degree murder and three counts of criminal vehicular operation. FOX 9's Rob Olson has the full story.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. (FOX 9) - After a car plowed into the patio at the Park Tavern, leaving two people dead, and a dozen others injured, the drunk driver who caused the wreck has pleaded guilty.
Park Tavern crash guilty plea
What we know:
At a plea hearing on Wednesday morning, Bailey pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree murder and three counts of criminal vehicular operation. He will face between 25 and 30 years in prison, as decided by a judge. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty says she will ask the judge to hand down the 30-year sentence.
The plea comes just days before Bailey was set to face trial on May 12.
Mary Moriarty on Steven Bailey plea
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty spoke Wednesday morning after Steven Bailey pled guilty in the deadly Park Tavern patio crash.
What they're saying:
After learning of the guilty plea on Tuesday, FOX 9 spoke with one of the victims in the case.
"At least we know he’s going to be in jail, and he’s not going to be able to hurt other people...." said Tegan D’Albani, who suffered multiple leg and pelvic injuries. "If this happened to your children, what do you think would be an appropriate sentence for someone that potentially would’ve killed your child due to drunk driving?"
FOX 9 also heard from the tavern's owner. "The only justice is really an eye for an eye, but that’s just not our legal system," said Park Tavern owner Phil Weber. "I wouldn’t even want to waste my breath talking to him. If he hasn’t got the God-given common sense to not do what he did – somebody like that’s beyond reason. They just don’t think like a normal person."
Park Tavern deadly crash: Driver pleads guilty
After a driver plowed into the patio at the Park Tavern, leaving two people dead, and a dozen others injured, the drunk driver who caused the wreck has pleaded guilty to murder charges. Steven Bailey pleaded guilty on Wednesday morning, a couple days before he was set to go to trial.
Attorneys respond to plea:
After the plea hearing on Wednesday, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty spoke out about the "horrific" crash. She hopes Bailey's case will be a warning to others who struggle with alcoholism.
"He had five DWIs, and I'm not sure what could have stopped him from getting into that car other than his own choices," said Moriarty. "Ultimately, it is, I think, a lot about personal responsibility when you are in that situation."
"I wish he had made a different choice," Moriarty later added. "There's nothing, even though we're going to get a lengthy prison term here, it's not going to bring loved ones back – or undo the tremendous injuries that happen to people. I hope that people will think about this, think about their friends and families who may be struggling with addiction and take action to make sure this doesn't happen again."
Fatal Park Tavern driver to plead guilty
The man charged with murder and drunk driving after crashing into the patio at Park Tavern in St. Louis Park plans to plead guilty just days before his trial was set to begin. FOX 9’s Mike Manzoni spoke with one of the victims from the crash to ask how they are feeling on the eve of the decision.
Deadly Park Tavern crash: What happened?
The backstory:
Authorities said Bailey tested more than four times over the limit, with a blood-alcohol level of .325, after he crashed into the tavern's patio space in September 2024.
Video showed Bailey driving his vehicle, attempting to back into a parking spot, but hitting another car. Then, as he pulled out of the spot, police say the vehicle accelerated into the patio area, where a group of Methodist Hospital workers had gathered for the night.
The victims:
Two people were killed in the crash: Park Tavern server Kristina Folkerts and Methodist Hospital employee Gabe Harvey. At least a dozen people were injured, including four Methodist nurses: Theo Larson, Tegan D’Albani, Laura Knutsen and Eric Schefers.
Charging documents also showed Bailey lived within walking distance from the Park Tavern.
Remembering the Park Tavern crash victims
Kristina Folkerts, one of the victims of the fatal crash at Park Tavern in St. Louis Park, Minn., had a deep, lifelong connection to Park Tavern where she worked as a server, that FOX 9 had previously profiled.
The charges against Bailey
Timeline:
After the crash, Bailey initially faced two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and nine counts of criminal vehicular operation. However, a month after the crash, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office upgraded the charges against Bailey, adding two counts of third-degree murder.
Just last week, prosecutors added three more counts of criminal vehicular operation for three injured victims, while upgrading two previous criminal vehicle operation counts from causing "substantial bodily harm" to causing "great bodily harm."
Dig deeper:
Court records showed Bailey had at least five prior drunk driving convictions on his record before the Park Tavern crash.
- Bailey was arrested in Sept. 1985 for driving under the influence in Wisconsin. Bailey was just 17 years old at the time.
- Bailey was arrested again in Dec. 1992 for driving under the influence in Wabasha County.
- His third arrest came in Nov. 1997 in Hennepin County.
- In 2013, Bailey was arrested for drunk driving in Waseca. He ultimately pleaded guilty in the case.
- A year later, and just a few months after pleading guilty in the first case, Bailey was arrested in Plymouth, Minn. for drunk driving, driving with a canceled license, and careless driving. He ultimately pleaded guilty to the DWI charge while the other counts were dismissed.
The Source: This story uses past reporting, information from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, and information from court documents.