The man behind the wheel of a speeding car that ran a stop sign and crashed into another vehicle, killing that driver, has pleaded guilty.
Akili Nelson Scott, 20, of Rochester, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Olmsted County District Court to one count of criminal vehicular homicide, a felony, and three gross misdemeanor counts of criminal vehicular operation.
In exchange for the plea, three additional counts of criminal vehicular homicide and nine additional counts of criminal vehicular operation are expected to be dismissed.
He remains in custody in lieu of $150,000 conditional bond; sentencing is set for March 18.
Authorities believe Scott was driving east on 13th Street Southeast about 10 p.m. Nov. 6 at speeds of up to 80 mph when he ran the stop sign at the intersection with Eighth Avenue.
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The vehicle he was driving slammed into the side of a southbound vehicle driven by Kayla Marie Cunningham, 23, of Aberdeen, S.D. The impact sent her vehicle into a yard on the southeast corner of the intersection, about 150 feet away, and flipped it upside down. The other vehicle ended up farther down 13th Street, the report says.
Cunningham was partially ejected from her vehicle, said Rochester Police Capt. John Sherwin, despite wearing her seat belt. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Cunningham was a student at the Mayo School of Health Sciences, according to her Facebook page.
Scott and three passengers in the suspect vehicle all ran from the scene; Scott was located about 90 minutes later in an apartment at 1716 Eight 1/2 St. SE. The three passengers, ages 16, 17 and 20, are being treated as witnesses, Sherwin said. One of the juveniles was found at a local hospital, where he had gone for treatment of his injuries.
The four had been watching TV at a home in the area; someone in the home reportedly found a bottle of gin where they'd been gathered.
Officers were familiar with the vehicle description and the subjects from "multiple prior (police) stops" and another hit-and-run crash only a day before, Sherwin said. That crash involved a different driver, he said.
