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19-year-old driver illegally crossing Wright County road causes fatal crash
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19-year-old driver illegally crossing Wright County road causes fatal crash

A 19-year-old driver trying to pass between slower vehicles collided head-on with an SUV in Wright County, killing one person and injuring several others, authorities said Thursday.

The SUV’s passenger, 92-year-old Janice Evelyn Johnson of Arden Hills, died Monday in HCMC from injuries she suffered in an Oct. 22 crash on County Road 37 near County Road 12 in Monticello Township, the Sheriff’s Office said. Hennepin County District Court.

The driver and two other people in the SUV escaped injury, according to an affidavit filed by the Sheriff’s Office to collect Johnson’s medical records in HCMC as part of the investigation.

The Sheriff’s Office said the reports were forwarded to the County Attorney’s Office for consideration of charges against the car’s driver, Christian Kabunangu, of Albertville, Minn.

Allegedly and the Sheriff’s Office:

Deputies arrived at the scene of the accident and spoke with Kabunangu; Kabunangu said he was traveling west on County Road 37 and found himself behind two vehicles traveling below the speed limit.

“He was late for work so he decided to pass them,” the affidavit said. Kabunangu said he saw the approaching SUV and estimated it was about a half-mile down the road.

He explained that as he attempted to pass one of the slower vehicles, the other driver “accelerated, preventing him from getting back into the westbound lane.”