Charges: Driver Had 10 Drinks Before Fatal Wrong-Way Crash On I-394

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. (WCCO) -- The wrong-way driver who killed another driver in a head-on crash last week had 10 drinks before getting behind the wheel, charging documents say.

Twenty-year-old Joseph Paul Maness is charged with criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation, according to documents filed in Hennepin County.

A criminal complaint states police responded to a crash on Interstate 394 near Plymouth Road Friday, finding a head-on collision between a Jeep and a Chrysler.

Maness was the driver of the Jeep, the complaint states, and he had been driving the wrong way on 394. The Chrysler was heading in the right direction.

According to the complaint, Maness showed signs of impairment. When a trooper asked him if he knew he was driving the wrong way, Maness allegedly replied, "Sorry bro."

The complaint states Maness had a blood alcohol level of .207.

Both occupants of the Chrysler were hospitalized. The driver -- later identified as 30-year-old Alexander Caraveo -- later died, and the passenger suffered broken bones to her face and internal bleeding, according to the complaint.

WCCO's Jason DeRusha said he was driving into work Friday when he had to swerve to avoid Maness' Jeep.

Maness is in custody.

In:
• Interstate 394