Guilty Verdict for Deadly Snowmobile Crash That Changed State Law

Center City, MN (KROC-AM News) - A jury in east-central Minnesota has returned a guilty verdict in a criminal case that prompted a change in Minnesota's DUI law.

45-year-old Eric Coleman of Chisago City has been found guilty of seven charges, three of them felonies, for operating a snowmobile while intoxicated and smashing into an ice fishing house last January in a crash that killed 8-year-old Alan Geisenkoetter. The felony convictions were for third-degree murder and criminal vehicular homicide.

Coleman's driver's license had been revoked for drunk driving offenses, but a loophole in state law did not bar him from operating off-road vehicles. "Little Alan's Law" was approved by the State Legislature and automatically extends a drivers license revocation to snowmobiles and other off-road vehicles.

Coleman is scheduled to be sentenced on February 7th.