Charges upgraded in boy's death on Chisago Lake

Updated: 9:38 a.m. | Posted: 7:11 a.m.

A man accused of operating his snowmobile while drunk and striking an 8-year-old boy on a Chisago County lake is facing new charges because the child has died.

Forty-five-year-old Eric Coleman is now facing criminal vehicular homicide, criminal vehicular operation and drunken driving. Alan Geisenkoetter Jr., of Wyoming, died Wednesday night at the hospital. The second-grader was critically injured a week ago when he was struck and dragged by a snowmobile on Chisago Lake where he was going ice fishing with his family.

Coleman also faced drunken driving charges in Anoka County filed in November, and has three prior alcohol-related license revocations.

Court records say a State Patrol trooper at the scene smelled alcohol on Coleman and asked him to take a preliminary breath test. The trooper says Coleman refused but later told his health care providers that he was drinking before the crash.

Coleman, who was wearing a helmet and was conscious, was taken to the hospital where his blood was drawn about three hours later. Court records did not reveal his blood alcohol content.