Man charged in fatal crash

The surviving driver of a fatal head-on crash near Hope earlier this month has been charged with felony criminal vehicular homicide.

David Ramirez, 26, of Owatonna, made his first appearance Monday in Steele County District Court, where he was also charged with two counts of gross misdemeanor DWI.

According to the statement of probable cause, Ramirez had a blood alcohol content of .20 after the Nov. 4 crash near the intersection of 37th Avenue and 93rd Street southwest.

Christine Possin, 71, of New Richland, was the other driver. The mother of nine and grandmother of 44 was pronounced dead at the scene.

When Steele County Sheriff’s deputies arrived, they found a pickup diagonally on the road; an SUV was in the west ditch, facing north. Both vehicles had heavy front-end damage.

Ramirez was sitting in the passenger seat of the SUV, the court document says, and Possin was behind the wheel, unconscious.

A nearby resident told authorities she saw Ramirez “stumbling from the pickup truck to the SUV and appeared to attempt to give aid,” the document continues.

An officer noted an “overwhelming odor of alcohol” coming from Ramirez, who allegedly told an Ellendale firefighter who responded to the scene that he had had two beers that day.

Ramirez was described as “somewhat alert,” concerned and asking about his dog. He was taken by Mayo Ambulance from the scene, and later flown to Mayo Clinic Hospital-Saint Marys Campus.

According to the probable cause statement, a deputy saw a case of beer on the floor of the pickup, behind the driver’s seat, as well as an open can of beer in the passenger side door.

A handgun was found next to the driver’s seat in Ramirez’s vehicle, as well, the statement says.

A Minnesota State Patrol reconstruction determined Possin was driving south on 37th Avenue and Ramirez was northbound when the collision occurred.

Residents in the area called 911 after hearing the crash.