Teen charged in Lakeville crash that killed 3

Prosecutors have filed a careless driving charge against a 17-year-old for a crash in Lakeville that killed three people on Dec. 12.

Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said Monday that a grand jury declined to indict the 17-year-old Rice County youth on a felony charge of criminal vehicular homicide, and returned only an indictment for careless driving.

Backstrom says cell phone records indicate the youth was neither talking nor texting on his phone when his pickup swerved over the center line and crashed into a car. The crash killed a grandmother, her daughter and granddaughter.

He says the driver has no memories of the crash because of his injuries, so it may never be known why he swerved. The case will proceed in juvenile court.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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