Wright County mom charged after letting unlicensed 15-year-old drive, killing woman on sidewalk
ROCKFORD, Minn. (FOX 9) - A Wright County woman faces felony charges after allegedly letting her 15-year-old daughter drive, leading to a crash that killed one pedestrian and seriously injured another.
Deadly crash in Rockford leads to charges
What we know:
According to a criminal complaint filed in Wright County District Court, Charlotte Free Breton is charged with aiding and abetting criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation resulting in substantial bodily harm.
Deputies say Breton allowed her daughter, who had just turned 15 and did not have a permit, to drive the family van. The complaint states the teen had only completed the classroom portion of driver’s education and had never driven before. Witnesses told deputies the van failed to make a right turn, jumped the curb, and struck two women walking on the sidewalk before crashing into a house.
The complaint says one woman was pinned under the van and died at the scene despite efforts by bystanders and first responders. The other woman, her wife, suffered serious leg fractures and facial injuries and was hospitalized.
Deputies and witnesses described the van accelerating through the intersection while taking a right turn and not braking before hitting the pedestrians. The weather was clear and sunny, and investigators found no evidence of phone use or mechanical failure.
According to the charges, Breton told deputies, "The crash was her fault as she told her daughter to drive." She also said her daughter was following GPS instructions on her phone, and that she had driven about five miles before reaching Rockford.
According to the complaint, the van's airbag data showed it accelerated from 11 to 19 mph and slowed to 10 mph during the crash, but the brakes were never applied.
Witnesses at the scene described the van as suddenly speeding up and not stopping before hitting the victims. The house that was struck also sustained structural damage.
Breton told investigators she believed her daughter froze and may have hit the wrong pedal. The teen told deputies things were "blurry" and she may have pressed the accelerator instead of the brake.
Both Breton and her daughter denied the teen was using a phone at the time. Forensic analysis of both phones confirmed there was no phone use during the crash.
Rockford crash details
The backstory:
Authorities responded at about 1:53 p.m. on May 3 to a call of a vehicle versus pedestrian crash at the intersection of Ash Street and County Road 33 in Rockford. When sheriff’s deputies arrived, they learned two women were hit by a vehicle while they were walking on the sidewalk.
One of the women was trapped under the vehicle when officers arrived. The Rockford Fire Department also responded to the crash. Firefighters and sheriff’s deputies were able to get the woman out from under the vehicle, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The second woman hit suffered significant injuries to her lower extremities, and was transported to North Memorial Hospital.
The Source: Court documents out of Wright County, and past FOX 9 reporting.