Man Who Plowed Into Crowd at Tavern Was Very Drunk: Cops

UPDATE Sep 4, 2024 1:30 AM CDT

The man accused of driving into the patio of a Minneapolis-area tavern, killing two and injuring at least nine others, was allegedly very intoxicated at the time. Police say the BAC of suspect Steven Frane Bailey, 56, was 0.325%, or more than quadruple Minnesota's legal limit for driving, the Star-Tribune reports. Bailey was charged Tuesday with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and nine counts of criminal vehicular operation. The tragedy killed a tavern employee and a customer, both 30 years old: Kristina Marie Folkerts and Gabriel Quinn Harvey, who worked at a nearby hospital and was out with co-workers bidding farewell to a departing colleague. Police say Bailey fell to his knees after exiting the vehicle and told police regarding sobriety tests, "You don't need to do fields. I know what I did."

Sep 2, 2024 10:30 AM CDT

Two people were killed and three were injured when a man drove into a busy patio area outside a bar and bowling alley in a Minneapolis suburb around 8pm Sunday. The 56-year-old driver was arrested by police in St. Louis Park for probable cause vehicular homicide, KTSP reports. "Surveillance footage shows the male driver entered the Park Tavern parking lot," police said in a statement, per the Minnesota Star Tribune. "He attempted to park, then drove into the outside patio."

A witness told KARE 11 that the driver hit the back of his vehicle before driving directly into a crowd of around 30 people. The business says it will remain closed until further notice, in a decision made to "support and care for our staff and neighbors." The Minnesota State Patrol is doing accident reconstruction at the scene and working with local police to determine exactly what happened, the Star Tribune reports. (More Minnesota stories.)