Grinnell teen charged in crash that killed Iowa high school senior
An 18-year-old from Grinnell was charged in November with reckless driving, careless driving, failure to maintain control, possession of alcohol and involuntary manslaughter in a crash that killed passenger and Montezuma High School senior Chloe Hutchcraft, 17.
Jasper County first responders were called around 2:41 a.m. Aug. 26 to a single vehicle rollover close to 5352 Jewel St. in Grinnell, according to the criminal complaint. Driver Benjamin Kelne was seen outside of the vehicle attending to Hutchcraft, who was found injured and unresponsive. She later died at the hospital of her injuries.
Court documents said Kelne helped officials in providing medical attention. He allegedly told to an officer, "We were going too fast around the corner, I lost control," court documents say. Police found a bottle of Black Velvet whisky in the car and a preliminary breath test indicated Kelne had a blood alcohol content of 0.017.
Kelne also was cited for speeding on July 27 and July 30, court records show.
Hutchcraft had recently joined the cross-country team and was accepted to go to Luther College. She had hopes of becoming a sports analyst at ESPN and had shadowed KGRN Sports Director Chris Varney, who was having her interview coaches in the area, according to her obituary.
Noelle Alviz-Gransee is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Follow her on Twitter@NoelleHannika or email her at NAlvizGransee@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Charges filed against teen for crash that killed Montezuma senior
