Driver charged in double fatal Arden Hills crash was so drunk he needed to be hospitalized, authorities allege
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The driver accused of causing a fatal crash on a northeastern Twin Cities highway last week was so drunk he was falling asleep while authorities spoke to him, charging documents allege.
Luis Eduardo Tipantuna Quinchiguano, 31, is charged with four counts of criminal vehicular homicide, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
The crash occurred Friday morning on westbound Interstate 694 near Snelling Avenue in Arden Hills. It killed 76-year-old Curtis O'Connor and 74-year-old Karin O'Connor of New Brighton.
Tipantuna Quinchiguano was driving a Chevrolet Equinox when he crashed into the victims' vehicle, pushing it into the left lane in front of a semi truck, the criminal complaint said.
Officers said they saw and smelled alcohol in Tipantuna Quinchiguano's car. He was unconscious when they found him, but "would regain consciousness and quickly fall back to sleep," the complaint said. A preliminary breath test registered a blood alcohol content of .218, nearly three times the legal limit. Results of a blood test are pending.
"A paramedic expressed that [he] was so intoxicated that he would need to be hospitalized," the complaint said.
Witnesses told investigators Tipantuna Quinchiguano was "driving erratically" before the crash, changing lanes without a signal, "weaving in and out of traffic" and leaving the roadway completely, according to the complaint.
Tipantuna Quinchiguano is in custody.
The crash briefly closed I-694. The driver of the semi truck was hospitalized, but his injuries were not considered life-threatening.