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Crime, Law and Justice
Matt Sepic
Minneapolis

Moriarty adds murder charges in Park Tavern crash

People gather outside
People gather at Park Tavern in St. Louis Park on Sept. 4 to remember those killed by a vehicle crashing into patio on Sept. 1.
Elizabeth Shockman | MPR News

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Prosecutors on Monday filed third-degree murder charges against Steven Frane Bailey of St. Louis Park, the alleged drunk driver in the Park Tavern crash.

The new charges come in addition to two counts of vehicular homicide and nine counts of criminal vehicular operation that Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty filed last week.

Minnesota law allows third-degree murder charges for “perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life.”

In a statement, Moriarty said that her team filed the new complaint after reviewing surveillance video of the Sept. 1 incident. While the video was referenced in police reports, Moriarty said prosecutors had not yet seen the footage when they filed the original complaint.

The video hasn’t been made public. Moriarty added that she is asking Park Tavern not to release it because of the ongoing investigation and out of respect to the victims’ families.

According to the amended complaint, the video shows Bailey’s BMW turn right into the Park Tavern parking lot, which is nearly full. It notes that Bailey “would have had a clear view of the patio, tables, umbrellas and the numerous individuals seated outside from the time he pulls into the lot and throughout his course of travel.”

After entering the lot, Bailey attempted to park, but backed into a parked car. While allegedly trying to flee, he struck a moving SUV before crashing into the patio at high speed without braking. Investigators said that Bailey was moving at 30 to 45 miles per hour when he drove into the patio and stopped only after hitting several boulders at the base of a hill.

Park Tavern server Kristina Folkerts, 30, was pinned under the BMW and pronounced dead at the scene. Gabe Harvey, 30, a Health Unit Coordinator at Methodist was also killed. Harvey was among multiple Methodist Hospital staff members who’d gathered at Park Tavern to celebrate a colleague’s final ICU shift.

Investigators say at least nine people were injured in the crash. Two of Harvey’s co-workers remain at HCMC where they are listed in satisfactory condition. A third Methodist employee was released from North Memorial late last week.

Prosecutors say Bailey, 56, had a blood alcohol concentration of .325, which is more than four times the legal limit. Minnesota court records show that Bailey was first pulled over for drunk driving in 1985 at age 17, and has five DWI convictions.

After his most recent conviction, in 2014, a judge required Bailey to equip his vehicle with an ignition interlock device. In an email to MPR News, a spokesperson for Minnesota’s Driver and Vehicle Services division said that Bailey has not been enrolled in the interlock program since Oct. 19, 2020 and has a valid license.

Bailey remains jailed. A judge set conditional bond at $500,000.