Bemidji man charged in fatal Itasca County crash, allegedly said dying friend was driver

A 29-year-old Bemidji man faces criminal vehicular homicide charges after allegedly being drunk and behind the wheel of a pickup truck that rolled over on state Highway 65 in Itasca County last week, killing a friend.

Authorities allege that Christopher Smith told a state trooper at the scene of the crash that the man who later died from his injuries — Mark Wirtjes, 56, of Bovey, who was thrown from the truck — was the driver. But another passenger and other evidence point to Smith as the one who was driving, according to a criminal complaint.

http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/local/3994162-bemidji-man-charged-fatal-itasca-county-crash-allegedly-said-dying-friend-was