Winnie Lucas, 26, of St. Paul, was charged last week with four misdemeanors stemming from the crash, which occurred Aug. 14, 2008, on westbound I-94 at Minnesota Street: reckless driving, careless driving, driving after her license was revoked and driving without insurance.
Killed was James L. Davis, 29, of White Bear Lake. Davis, who was married, worked for Cray Inc. in St. Paul as a software engineer.
According to the criminal complaint, filed by the city attorney's office:
Lucas was driving in the left lane and closing in on a lunch-hour traffic jam at nearly 55 miles per hour. She then looked down "in an effort to grab a cell phone charger." Once she looked up and realized she couldn't stop in time to avoid a car in her lane, Lucas slammed on her brakes, clipped the car, veered into the left shoulder and struck Davis' motorcycle.
Davis, also on the shoulder to avoid the backup, was dragged about 150 feet by the SUV.
Moments before the crash, Lucas was seen speeding and "weaving in and out of traffic, at one point almost colliding with a semi," witnesses told police.
Lucas' license had been revoked three weeks earlier. The SUV was not hers, and she knew that it was uninsured.
Driver inattention, the most common factor in all car crashes, caused at least 74 deaths last year in Minnesota and injured another 8,999 people.
However, according to state officials, the official number is likely low. Driver inattention is suspected in at least one in four car crashes but can't easily be proven.
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