Charge: Driver high on fentanyl when he killed other motorist in crash near Duluth
A 54-year-old man was high on fentanyl when he caused a head-on crash on a highway near Duluth and killed the other motorist, according to a criminal complaint.
Tony L. Northrup, of Cloquet, Minn., was charged Monday in St. Louis County District with criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the death near Brookston on Sept. 24 of Melissa Kalinoski, 42, of Cromwell, Minn.
Northrup was charged by summons ahead of an April 14 court appearance. A message was left with him Wednesday seeking his response to the allegations.
According to the complaint:
Northrup was heading east on Hwy. 2 in his pickup truck about 8:50 p.m., when he crossed the centerline and struck a westbound minivan head-on.
Kalinoski died at the scene, about 30 miles west of Duluth. Northrup suffered noncritical injuries.
Northrup, who appeared intoxicated, told a state trooper that he had been drinking that night. A preliminary breath test measured his blood alcohol content at 0.031%, well below the legal limit for driving in Minnesota.
The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension tested Northrup's blood that night for illicit drugs and found the potent opiates fentanyl and norfentanyl in his system.
Kristin Honan told KBJR-TV in Duluth that her sister left behind a 15-year-old daughter and a longtime boyfriend.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
