Marlon Fleming Charged With Hitting 2 Tow Truck Operators On I-35
WEBSTER TOWNSHIP, Minn. (WCCO) -- A man accused of hitting two tow truck employees on a highway in southern Minnesota was turned in to police by his father, charges state.
Marlon Fleming is charged with one felony counts of criminal vehicular operation, one a felony and one a misdemeanor, according to Rice County court documents.
A criminal complaint states a Minnesota State Patrol trooper was at the scene of a rollover crash on Interstate 35 in Rice County Sunday night when he saw a car drive past "and come within inches of hitting his squad."
The driver continued on, and the trooper said he saw the driver hit two tow truck employees who were clearing the rollover crash. Both men were hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening.
The driver did not stop after hitting the men, according to the complaint, and left debris from the vehicle at the scene. The trooper identified the car as a Lincoln MKZ based on his squad car's video.
On Monday night, a man called dispatch to report his son -- Fleming -- was the driver who hit the tow truck operators. Fleming's father said he had called his son Sunday night and told him to bring the Lincoln home. Fleming was "drunk and belligerent" during the call, the compliant states.
Fleming returned home around 1:30 a.m. Monday. When his father saw the damage to the car, Fleming said he was texting and sideswiped another vehicle. Fleming's father called police, who arrested Fleming.
Fleming was impaired when he was arrested, the complaint states, and was taken to a hospital to be medically cleared for jail. While at the hospital, he allegedly denied hitting the tow truck operators before admitting it may have been him.
"My father he told me about that story today, about two guys getting hit on 35W, and I was like no that was not me, and then just kinda thinking about it, I was like, oh my god, that probably was me," he said, according to the complaint.
Fleming also allegedly told an officer he was on his phone during the incident.
An examination of the Lincoln showed damage consistent with the debris found at the scene, the complaint states.
Fleming is in custody.