No Charges In Crash That Killed Hastings Teen
HASTINGS, Minn. (WCCO) – Authorities said Thursday that no criminal charges will be filed in connection with the south metro crash last September that killed a Hastings teenager.
Maddy Sake, 16, was driving northbound on Lewiston Boulevard near 190th Street in Marshan Township near Hastings at about 7:50 p.m. on Sept. 6, 2012, when her car hit a pick-up truck head-on at the top of a hill. Sake, a junior at Hastings High School, was airlifted to Regions Hospital where she later died.
The driver of the pick-up truck was identified as 18-year-old Blake Allen Beissel of Hastings. He had an 18-year-old Hastings male and a 17-year-old Hastings female with him in the truck at the time of the crash. Beissel suffered a broken leg in the crash, and the other two had minor injuries.
Friends of Sake and Beissel said the two were friends.
Authorities said an investigation showed there was no evidence that Sake or Beissel were under the influence of alcohol, drugs or might have been distracted by their cell phones. Authorities said it is not known why Sake's vehicle crossed the center line and hit the pick-up truck. The investigation also showed that Sake was driving at about 55 miles per hour, which is the speed limit in the area, at the time of the crash.
