No Charges In Fatal Isanti County Hit-&-Run
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Isanti County Attorney's Office says it will not be pursing charges in a hit-and-run incident that resulted in the death of a 15-year-old boy.
On Sept. 10, 2015, Antonio DeMeueles, a sophomore at Blaine High School, was skateboarding when a white pick-up truck with a topper hit him.
A passerby found him on 285th Avenue with serious injuries and emergency personnel attempted CPR on him at the scene, but he was pronounced dead at Cambridge Medical Center.
An investigation determined the driver of the truck – identified as Adam Maki – believed he had hit a dog or a turkey. A neighbor corroborated his story.
In addition to dark conditions contributing to the incident, authorities say that witnesses reported seeing DeMeueles wearing dark clothing and positioning himself lower to the ground. One witness said she saw him sitting on his skateboard in the middle of the westbound lane as she passed him in the eastbound lane.
A crash reconstruction report determined that Maki's vehicle wasn't traveling over the posted speed limit at the time of the crash.
Maki also admitted to consuming two bottles of Bud Light prior to the incident, but authorities say there is no evidence to indicate that the consumption played a factor in the crash. According to the investigation, Maki's neighbor, Nicholas Sokol, said he did not smell alcohol on Maki's breath, see him stumble or hear him speak with slurred speech.
Maki turned himself into authorities after seeing via a report that his vehicle was involved in a hit-and-run. The attorney's office says he cooperated fully with law enforcement.
The report concludes that there is no evidence to charge Maki with any offense.
"[The death of DeMeueles] was a tragedy," Isanty County Attorney Jeffrey Edblad said. "However, a tragedy does not always mean that someone is criminally culpable for that tragedy and that is the situation at hand."