Man accused of 2023 Forest Lake hit-and-run death pleads not guilty

Mary Divine, Pioneer Press
·1 min read

Dylan Simmons, the man accused of intentionally striking and killing a teenage girl with his vehicle last year in Lakeside Memorial Park in downtown Forest Lake, has pleaded not guilty.

Simmons, 20, of North Branch, is facing six criminal charges in connection with the hit-and-run death of Darisha Bailey Vath, 17, of Stacy, Minn., around 1:20 a.m. July 16, 2023. The charges include two counts of second-degree murder, one count of criminal vehicular homicide and three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon in connection, according to the Washington County Attorney’s office.

Simmons last week rejected a plea deal offered by prosecutors and pleaded not guilty to all six charges, said Laura Perkins, public information manager. Terms of the plea deal were not disclosed.

Simmons’ attorneys said their client acted out of self-defense, she said.

Security video footage shows a white Mazda 3, driven by Simmons, was parked and then “quickly drove forward in the direction of a group of approximately six bystanders, narrowly missing them,” according to the criminal complaint filed in Washington County District Court.

“Simmons then looped around and again rapidly accelerated towards the group of bystanders … narrowly missing them, but striking the rear end of a parked vehicle,” the complaint states. “(He) then backed up and again lurched forward, striking and then driving over (Vath) before leaving the parking lot.”

The hit-and-run allegedly happened after a fight involving two groups of people that knew one another.

“Participants on both sides were shouting at the other and multiple participants had armed themselves with weapons such as a baseball bat, hammers, a crowbar and a folding knife,” the complaint states.

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