Rosemount Man Charged with Criminal Vehicular Operation

A Rosemount man has been charged in connection with an accident last spring in which he is accused of running a red light in Apple Valley and causing a multi-car accident, seriously injuring another driver.

Charles Dolan McDermott, 19, faces a felony charge of criminal vehicular operation, which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He also faces lesser charges of fourth-degree DWI and possession of marijuana in a vehicle.

According to the criminal complaint, Apple Valley police responded to an accident just before 4 p.m. April 8 at the intersection of Galaxie Avenue and 150th Street.

Witnesses told police that a Ford Explorer driven by McDermott had run a red light and caused the accident. One of the other drivers was hospitalized, and doctors later told police that he suffered a fractured collarbone and a separated shoulder in the crash and had to have surgery.

As an officer approached McDermott, he said, “This is totally my fault,” according to the complaint. He told police that he had been southbound on Galaxie and looked down “to change the radio or something” as he entered the intersection.

McDermott told police he thought the light was yellow, but admitted that it could have been red, the complaint says. He was unable to provide any more information, but told police, “I just wasn’t paying attention,” according to the complaint.

A passenger in McDermott’s SUV told police that his head was also down and he didn’t see the crash, but said that afterward, McDermott told him, “This is my fault. I totally [expletive] up,” according to the complaint.

A witness told police that either McDermott or his passenger picked up a purple cloth Crown Royale bag after the crash and remove it from the scene. The officer found the bag in a low brick wall near McDermott; police asked McDermott and his passenger if they had been drinking, but both denied it.

Police asked who had removed the bag from the SUV, and McDermott said he had removed a different Crown Royale bag. When the officer looked inside the bag, he found marijuana, the complaint says.

When police mentioned the possibility of surveillance video, McDermott admitted that the bag and the marijuana were his, and that he had smoked marijuana earlier 30 to 45 minutes earlier, the complaint says. His passenger said McDermott had smoked only 10 minutes before the crash.

Police searched the SUV and found smoking devices containing burnt residue and partially burned marijuana, along with a small plastic bag containing marijuana buds and a grinder. Marijuana seeds and stems were found on the SUV’s front and rear floors.

McDermott’s blood test turned up the presence of marijuana, according to forensic scientists at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

McDermott is scheduled to make a first appearance on the charges Sept. 26 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.