GRAND RAPIDS - A Bemidji man was sentenced to probation on Monday for criminal vehicular homicide in the death of a passenger in a March 17 crash involving his pickup truck.
Christopher Glenn Smith, 30, will serve a year in jail and pay a fine of more than $1,000, must remain alcohol- and drug-free and will be subject to random testing among terms of the probation imposed in State District Court in Grand Rapids. Smith will face a prison sentence of nearly five years if he violates any of the terms of his probation, which is in effect for 10 years.
Smith was driving his Ford pickup truck southbound on Minnesota Highway 65 just north of Goodland in Itasca County at about 11:30 p.m. March 17 when the vehicle left the road and rolled several times.
A passenger, Mark Allen Wirtjes of Bovey, was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene.
A breath test at the scene showed Smith had a blood-alcohol level of .108. The legal limit for driving is .08.
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Smith originally claimed that Wirtjes had been driving the truck, but another passenger as well as other evidence pointed to Smith being the driver, according to the criminal complaint.
The sentence imposed on Monday was consistent with a plea agreement when Smith pleaded guilty on Aug. 15.
