The Mercedes SUV struck Anousone Phanthavong as he put gas in his car late Aug. 23.
Phanthavong flew out of his shoes. The gas can landed in front of his Honda Accord while he landed facedown on the roadway 40 feet up the Riverside Avenue ramp. He died at the scene. Broken pieces of the SUV, some marked with blood, were scattered about.
Amy Senser, the wife of former Vikings tight end Joe Senser, admitted more than a week later that she was the driver who hit Phanthavong.
But Thursday, the day she was charged with a felony count of criminal vehicular homicide for leaving the scene, her attorney suggested Senser wasn't aware she had hit the man.
"Among the things (prosecutors) would be required to prove is that she hit a person, specifically a person, not just that she was involved in an accident, but that she hit a person and she knew she hit a person," said Eric Nelson, Senser's attorney. "We make no secret about it being a part of the defense."
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said the charge was the strongest his office could file given the evidence.
His office needs to "establish probable cause she was driving the car, that this is the car that struck Mr. Phanthavong, and that the collision caused death, and that she left the scene," Freeman said. "Those are the elements that we must prove to establish a conviction of criminal vehicular homicide. There is more than adequate evidence in the file to do that today."
Nelson said he was
surprised the charge against his client had been filed so rapidly."I'm not suggesting this was a rush to judgment, but I certainly think the county is feeling public sentiment and issued the charges," he said.
The charge came more than three weeks after Phanthavong, 38, of Roseville was killed near True Thai in Minneapolis, where he had worked for years as a cook. His family has criticized the fact that Senser, 45, of Edina admitted to driving the SUV but was not in jail.
Phanthavong's family stood alongside their attorney at a news conference on the charge outside the Hennepin County Government Center on Thursday afternoon.
"The family is relieved that charges are being filed at this point," said James Schwebel, the Phanthavong family's attorney. "They have been grieving and are pretty exhausted over this whole process."
Through an arrangement with her attorney, Senser turned herself in to the State Patrol about 11 a.m. Thursday. She was booked into the Hennepin County Jail and was released on $150,000 bail just after 1:30 p.m.
Asked during the news conference whether Senser was receiving deferential treatment because of her wealth and status, Freeman said no.
He said that charges came weeks after the accident because of the extensive crash reconstruction conducted by the State Patrol and that Senser was treated the same in her booking as anyone else facing the same charge. He described Senser as a woman with no criminal history who posed no further risk to public safety.
Freeman said his office received the patrol's case Wednesday and filed the single count a day later.
Still unknown is what Senser was doing in the hours leading up to the collision.
Phanthavong's family has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Sensers, seeking at least $50,000 in damages. Schwebel said Senser's specific activities, including whether she had been drinking, would contribute to the strength of his case.
"We want the jury to feel the full impact of what happened that night," he said.
Both Schwebel and Freeman said the criminal and civil cases would continue in tandem.
"We certainly believe that there are people out there that know what Amy Senser was doing that night," Schwebel said. "And we are going to locate those people, and we are going to take their testimony, and we're going to put together a much more comprehensive picture.
"This is basically a search for the truth."
On Wednesday, the Hennepin County medical examiner's office ruled Phanthavong's death accidental. He died of multiple blunt-force injuries, the office said.
Nelson said Senser "grieves for this family."
"She is brave in the face of these charges," he said. "She is lamenting the loss of this
Vilayphone Phanthavong, center, sister of Anousone Phanthavong, and niece Souksavanh Phanthavong, right, both of Lakeville, speak with attorney James Schwebel, left, outside the Hennepin County Government Center on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2011. (Pioneer Press: Richard Marshall)
Moments before, Senser had left the Hennepin County Jail after posting bail. Wearing sunglasses and keeping her head down, she was escorted by Nelson. Husband Joe Senser put his arm around her as the two met outside the jail, pulling her to his side. The couple walked briskly to their car, silent, save for a whisper from husband to wife. Joe Senser opened his wife's car door before he got into the seat behind her. Someone else was driving.
Her first appearance in Hennepin County District Court is slated for 1:30 p.m. today.
If convicted, Senser could face up to 10 years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine. Freeman said that if she were convicted, she would likely face four years in prison, given her clean record.
According to the criminal complaint filed Thursday in Hennepin County District Court, investigators learned from a headlight left at the accident scene - the Riverside exit ramp from westbound Interstate 94 in Minneapolis - that the suspect vehicle was a Mercedes SUV.
About a day later, defense attorney Nelson phoned the State Patrol and said he would release a 2009 Mercedes ML350 luxury SUV that had been involved in the fatal accident. He said the car could be found in the 400 block of John Street in Edina - at the Sensers' home.
Investigators towed the car and found damage on the vehicle's front passenger side, including a broken headlight and fog light, the complaint said.
"The front passenger fender was also dented and there appeared to be blood on the front hood," according to the complaint. Joe Senser is the registered owner of the SUV.
On Sept. 2, some 10 days after the crash, Nelson faxed a statement by Amy Senser to the State Patrol saying she had been behind the wheel.
The statement said, "I, Amy Senser, was the driver of the vehicle in the accident in which (Victim 1) lost his life," according to the criminal complaint, which omitted Phanthavong's name from the statement.
Freeman said the investigation into the crash continues and any new information could be used to amend or add to the current charge.
"There are really only two people who know what happened that night," he said. "One is tragically dead, and the other is exerting her constitutional right not to talk, other than to issue a one-sentence phrase that she was driving the car."
Emily Gurnon contributed to this report.
John Brewer can be reached at jbrewer@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-2093. Kyle Potter can be reached at kpotter@pioneerpress.com or 651-265-2490.
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