May 11, 2009 4:21 pm US/Central
Charges Likely For Driver Who Struck, Killed Boy
MERRIFIELD, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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Authorities said Sherman Frederick, 66, of Crosslake, Minn. hit 3-year-old Jack Larson after driving onto the shoulder of County Road 3 to pass stopped vehicles.
Crow Wing County
A driver has been arrested after authorities say he hit and killed a 3-year-old boy in northern Minnesota over the weekend.
Three-year-old Jack Larson of Buffalo, Minn. was pronounced dead at the scene after he was struck by a vehicle on County Road 3 in Merrifield, Minn. on Saturday afternoon. Authorities said Sherman Frederick, 66, of Crosslake, Minn. hit the boy after driving onto the shoulder of the road to pass stopped vehicles.
According to the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office, traffic came to a stop in both directions on County Road 3 just south of the Crystal Lake Road intersection. Five children were crossing the road in front of the stopped vehicles.
Authorities said as the last two children, including Jack, began to cross the road, Frederick tried to pass the stopped vehicles on the shoulder and hit Jack.
Frederick was arrested on the scene and booked into the Crow Wing County Jail. Formal charges of criminal vehicular homicide are expected to be filed on Tuesday.
Crow Wing County Sheriff Todd Dahl reminded motorists that passing on the right is illegal when it requires a person to drive in the shoulder of the road.
"This is a violation that we seem to be seeing more and more of, and it is always dangerous," said Dahl. "If there are cars stopped in the road in front of you, they probably have a good reason for stopping. The few seconds you save by passing on the right is not worth the lives you place at risk by doing so."
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