Funeral Director On Trial In Crash That Killed 2
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) -- Testimony begins Wednesday in the trial of a Duluth funeral director accused of driving under the influence of a prescription sleeping pill and causing a crash that killed two people.
A jury in St. Louis County District Court will hear witness accounts of what happened the night Daniel Dougherty allegedly ran a red light and crashed into a Toyota Camry in March 2009. The 26-year-old driver, Timothy Schlies, died at the scene. His passenger, 27-year-old Hans Champney Warren, died the next day.
The Duluth News Tribune reports defense attorney David Keegan told jurors during opening statements that shortly before the crash Dougherty mistakenly took half of an Ambien pill, thinking it was a cholesterol pill. Prosecutor Shawn Reed says law enforcement officers will testify that Dougherty was "out of it" after the crash.
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