Man Was On Facetime During Deadly Richfield Crash: Police

RICHFIELD, MN — A Minneapolis man was charged by warrant in connection with a crash in Richfield in April that killed Alice Jane Tibbetts, 23, of Mendota Heights. Police say the man admitted to being on Facetime with his wife at the time of the fatal crash.

Darrin Doral Gregory Jr. was charged with one count of criminal vehicular homicide. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and pay a fine of up to $20,000.

Gregory is not currently in custody.

On the morning of April 15, Minnesota State Patrol said it responded to a four-vehicle crash on eastbound Highway 62 and Portland Avenue in Richfield. The vehicles involved were a

Honda Civic, a Chevy Equinox, a Kia Optima, and a Ford F150, officials said.

The highway had been under construction at the time of the crash and was down to one lane, according to officials.

Officials said that the Honda Civic, driven by Tibbetts, had come to a stop on the far-right shoulder of Highway 62. Tibbetts was still in the car but was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the complaint.

Gregory was trapped in his Ford F150 and was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center for his injuries, officials said.

The driver of the Chevy Equinox told state troopers that he had been rear-ended by the Honda Civic but then felt a second impact, according to the complaint. He saw a red truck flipping upside down in the air over his car, officials said.

According to state troopers, Gregory told them at HCMC that he had been Facetiming his wife at the time of the crash. He said his phone was on the windshield and that he was not looking at it, according to officials.

Officials said that Gregory then told them he was two car lengths behind the Honda Civic before it slammed on its brakes. Gregory said he didn't have enough time to react and that he hit that car, his car flew through the air, hit the pavement and slid forward, according to officials.

Investigators took Gregory's phone and found that he was on Facetime for two minutes after rear-ending the Honda Civic, state troopers said.

In a video from the Minnesota Department of Transportation Regional Traffic Management Center, Gregory doesn't appear to brake at all or try to steer away from hitting the Honda Civic, officials said. Traffic also appears to be mostly at a stand-still at the time of the crash, and the Honda Civic was disabled after rear-ending the Chevy Equinox, according to officials.

Minnesota State Patrol conducted a crash reconstruction and said the primary contributing factor in the crash was Gregory's "failure to react to the changing conditions ahead of him." The secondary contributing factors include him speeding and being on Facetime, officials said.

The crash reconstruction and video footage shows that Gregory didn't react at all before hitting the Honda Civic, when traffic was almost at a stand-still, according to officials.