Man gets 5-month jail sentence, probation for Rosemount crash that killed Father Dennis Dempsey
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis man learned his punishment Wednesday for a 2021 crash that killed a Burnsville priest.
Trejean Curry, 28, pleaded guilty to criminal vehicular homicide in a last-minute plea deal in January for the death of 73-year-old Father Dennis Dempsey.
Curry will be on probation for up to five years as part of a plea agreement and must serve 30 days in jail for each year of probation. However, that could be converted into community service.
MORE NEWS: "Senior assassins" game has police in Minnesota sounding the alarm
The crash happened in Rosemount off County Road 42 and Auburn Avenue on Oct. 25, 2021. Police found Dempsey in a ditch beside the road. He died at the scene. A sedan with a smashed windshield was parked nearby.
Curry told investigators Dempsey swerved out in front of him and he couldn't stop or move over because there were cars next to him and behind him.
Dempsey was an avid cyclist who had been a priest for 41 years, serving in Minnesota parishes and two missions to Venezuela.
In court Wednesday morning, Curry said he was sorry for what happened.
"This is not something I wanted, and I hope that they can forgive me and see that I'm honest and sincere in what I'm saying," Curry said.
His license had been revoked at the time of the crash, but he didn't have any alcohol or controlled substances in his system, according to court documents.