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Rochester minivan vs. home crash: Repeat DWI offender charged after injuring 2 people in March

By
FOX 9
Crime and Public Safety
Published September 24, 2026 5:36 PM CDT
Published September 24, 2026 5:36 PM CDT
article

Image shows the aftermath of a minivan crashing into a home in Rochester, Minnesota (Photo courtesy of KTTC). (Supplied)

The Brief

    • A crash in Rochester that saw a minivan end up inside a bedroom resulted in criminal charges for the driver.
    • A 37-year-old Rochester man with past DWI convictions is now charged with criminal vehicular operation that caused substantial bodily harm.
    • A woman inside the home suffered multiple fractures in her spine while a man in the home suffered a head injury.

ROCHESTER, Minn. (FOX 9) - Criminal charges have been filed six months after a man drove a minivan into a Rochester home, injuring two people who were asleep inside. 

Mathew David Bute, 37, of Rochester, is charged with criminal vehicular operation causing substantial bodily harm. 

READ MORE: Driver crashes into Rochester home, injures 2 people sleeping inside

Minivan driven into Rochester home 

Local perspective:

Court records say Rochester police responded to a reported crash in southeast Rochester at about 6:30 a.m. on March 20, 2026, for a report of a Honda minivan that had crashed into a home. 

Arriving officers then found the front end of the minivan was entirely inside the lower level bedroom of a split-level home.  

The driver, later identified as Matthew David Bute, was trapped inside the van and extricated, according to the criminal complaint.

Court documents state a man and a woman were injured when the minivan crashed into their bed, and both were taken to the hospital. 

Medical records cited in the complaint state the man suffered a head injury and showed symptoms consistent with a concussion. The woman sustained multiple fractures to her spine.

Bute was also injured and spoke to police at the hospital. The complaint states he admitted to an officer that he had "some beers last night" and a search warrant was then obtained to collect a sample of Bute's blood. 

The complaint states that the blood sample showed the presence of benzoylecgonine, which is a metabolite of cocaine and a schedule II controlled substance under Minnesota law.  

Past DWI offenses 

The backstory:

The criminal complaint states Bute pleaded guilty to and was convicted of third degree driving while impaired by controlled substance in Wabasha County on Sept. 24, 2022. That conviction was enhanced to a gross misdemeanor because of a prior DWI conviction in Olmsted County. 

The Source: This story uses information gathered from a criminal complaint filed in Olmsted County Court. 

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