Pickup truck driver charged in fatal hit-and-run crash with bicyclist
The Minneapolis driver in a fatal hit-and-run admitted to police he passed several cars before he crashed his pickup truck into a bicyclist who was trying to cross the street, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday.
The Hennepin County Attorney's office charged Wesley Francis McKeown Gubbin, 27, with criminal vehicular homicide.
Authorities say Gubbin acknowledged he was driving the pickup and told police he did not stop after the crash at Franklin Avenue and West River Parkway, an area popular with joggers and bicyclists.
"The defendant claimed he did not know what to do and just kept driving," the complaint said.
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Thomas Elmer Malloy, 61, of Minneapolis, was flung into the air and died hours later of blunt force injuries. His family told WCCO-TV he was on his way to synagogue and trying to take advantage of the nice weather when the crash happened.
According to the charging document, several witnesses saw the driver of the pickup pass a series of vehicles. One motorist reported that the truck driver swerved around him "at a high rate of speed" and then accelerated as he returned to his lane.
Malloy was crossing West River Parkway when he was struck. Even after the collision, the pickup driver did not stop or slow down, a witness reported.
Witnesses provided a detailed description of Gubbin's camouflage-colored pickup truck, including the license plate number. Police asked for the public's help in finding the driver.
Gubbin's girlfriend also acknowledged to police her boyfriend's role in the crash, confirming he passed three vehicles before striking Malloy, and that he fled the scene, the complaint said.
Gubbin turned himself in about nine hours after the crash. He is expected to make his first appearance Tuesday.
Gubbin's license was revoked for unpaid fines in 2004. He was also cited that year for driving while his license was suspended. Other marks on his record include driving without proof of insurance and failure to obey a traffic sign.