BREAKING NEWS: Owatonna man arrested in hit-and-run death

An Owatonna man has been arrested in connection with the hit-and-run crash that took the life of a Lonsdale man.

Derek Paul Denelsbeck, 42, was taken into custody Wednesday evening, hours after the body of Taylor Dean Padilla-Ades, 31, was found in a ditch in the 3700 block of Steele County Road 45 North.

A passer-by spotted Padilla-Ades about 7:20 Wednesday morning in the east ditch, surrounded by debris that appeared to come from a red vehicle. Padilla-Ades, who had apparently been walking in the area, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Later that day, the Owatonna Police Department recovered the vehicle involved in the crash and took Denelsbeck into custody on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide. He is expected to be formally charged Friday.

The investigation is ongoing, said OPD Chief Jeff Mundale. Anyone with information is asked to call 507-444-3800.

The Steele County Sheriff’s Office and Minnesota State Patrol are assisting in the case.