Bemidji man pleads guilty to criminal vehicular homicide

BEMIDJI -- A Bemidji man pleaded guilty to one count of felony criminal vehicular homicide in Itasca County court Monday, according to a news release from the Itasca County Attorney.

According to a criminal complaint, Christopher Glenn Smith, 30, was driving south on Highway 65 just north of Goodland, Minn., the night of March 17 when his Ford pickup truck left the road and rolled multiple times. One passenger, Mark Allen Wirtjes, was ejected from the pickup and was pronounced dead at the scene.

When a Minnesota State Trooper arrived at the scene at about 12 a.m. March 18, he approached two men who had also been in the car and noticed that they both smelled of alcohol. Smith and the other passenger, Michael Paul Vail, both said Wirtjes had been the one driving, though they had initially told first responders Wirtjes had not been driving, but would not say who was.

http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/local/4094959-bemidji-man-pleads-guilty-criminal-vehicular-homicide