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Andrew Carl Stutzka, 25, of Rushford, Minn., will wait until the end of October to face charges of criminal vehicular homicide, drunken driving and driving after revocation. He could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Police reports say Stutzka’s father first tried to take the rap for a fatal wreck Stutzka caused on Father’s Day.
In court Thursday, Stutzka’s public defender, Karin Sonneman, said she hasn’t received all the necessary evidence to make a decision on whether to bring up evidentiary issues and requested another court date. She asked that it be set 60 days away to ensure she gets all the evidence.
Winona County Attorney Chuck MacLean did not object to the continuance, saying he hasn’t received all the evidence either. He said blood tests at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are still pending, as is an accident reproduction report.
Judge Jeff Thompson set Stutzka’s next court date for Oct. 30.
Police say Stutzka drove into the intersection of Highway 43 and County Road 102 just before 1 a.m. June 15 without stopping for a stop sign. A motorcycle driven by Randy R. Todd, 42, of Rushford broadsided the pickup. Todd, who was wearing a helmet, died in an ambulance on its way to meet a helicopter.
Stutzka fled the scene, according to police reports. Officers later arrested his father, who was wearing slippers but claimed to have been driving the truck, the reports say.
Witnesses disputed the claim, and officers said they eventually found Stutzka hiding in the basement of his house about two miles away. He was bleeding from the face, according to police. As police entered the house, his father announced, “Come on out, Andrew, it didn’t work out the way you had wanted,” according to the reports.
A preliminary breath test found Stutzka’s blood-alcohol concentration to be 0.136 percent.
He has been out on $40,000 bond since June 17.
Contact Kevin Behr at (507) 453-3524 or kbehr@winonadailynews.com.
