Driver who hit pedestrian faces felony charge

A man who was hit by a car while waiting at a Minneapolis bus stop this weekend died on Tuesday, hours after the Hennepin County Attorney's Office charged a woman with his death.

Kirsten Bungum Driscoll, 49, had been drinking at her daughter's graduation party before running her car into Christopher Iverson, 48, who was talking to a friend at a bus stop near the intersection of East Lake St. and 39th Ave. South shortly after midnight on Sunday, according to a criminal complaint.

Driscoll was charged with one felony count of criminal vehicular operation.

Iverson suffered severe brain injuries and was hospitalized at Hennepin County Medical Center. His family had doctors remove him from life support Tuesday morning, according to his brother-in-law, Bill Breeggman.

"It was very hard to make the decision to let him go," Breeggman said. "We always want to hang on, but we thought it was best because the doctors informed us that as the days go on, he would just deteriorate more and more."

According to the complaint, Driscoll had been driving her black Audi westbound on Lake Street before she swerved abruptly and drove up onto the curb, hitting Iverson.

Officers responding to the scene found remnants of a Metro Transit bus shelter and other debris on her car.

Iverson was lying on the northeast corner of the intersection, behind the Audi. He was unconscious, and there was a pool of blood under his head, according to the complaint.

Witnesses told police that Driscoll had stumbled out of her car after the crash and appeared intoxicated. She was unsteady on her feet and had watery, bloodshot eyes, and was slurring her words, according to the complaint.

Driscoll admitted that she had been driving the car involved in the accident, and that she had consumed alcoholic beverages. A preliminary breath test showed her blood alcohol level at 0.19.

"I was just coming from my daughter's graduation party," Driscoll told police. "I took Lake Street because the freeway is closed and I just, I don't know, just fell asleep."

The accident happened as Iverson was returning home from a late-night cigarette run. He saw a friend at a bus stop and started chatting with her as she waited for her bus.

Breeggman said Iverson lived with his mother in south Minneapolis, and was riding his bike instead of driving a car because of his own past DUI offenses.

"Chris has had a checkered life himself, but he wasn't drinking or doing anything wrong," Breeggman said. "He was just riding his bike, and just standing at a bus stop talking to a friend."

Breeggman said he hopes his brother-in-law's death serves as a reminder of the dangers of drinking and driving.

"There's nothing wrong with drinking," Breeggman said. "It's when you make the decision to get behind the wheel. That was a bad decision."

Driscoll's first court appearance is Thursday at 1:30 p.m. in Hennepin County District Court.

Funeral arrangements for Iverson are pending.