Defense Attorney Blames Dead Teen For Fatal Crash
WINONA, Minn. (AP) -- The attorney for a Minnesota teen accused in a traffic crash that killed three classmates and critically injured another says one of the victims caused the accident, not the defendant.
The 17-year-old's lawyer has filed papers in Winona County asking that charges against the boy be dismissed. The defense blames Shauna Marie Ruhoff for the fatal crash that killed her and two other teens, 14-year-old Katie Lee Hornberg and 13-year-old Morgan Elizabeth Zeller from Lewiston-Altura High School last April.
Twelve-year-old Cydney Maker suffered serious injuries.
Investigators concluded the defendant and Ruhoff were driving their trucks side-by-side at more than 80 mph before Ruhoff lost control and struck the boy's vehicle, then rolled several times in a ditch near Altura. The Winona Daily News says prosecutors have until Dec. 28 to file a response to the motion filed by defense attorney Michael Colich.
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