Murder Charges Added In Death Of Teen In Forest Lake

STILLWATER, MN — Murder counts have been added against the man charged in the death of a 17-year-old girl in Forest Lake who was run over by a vehicle last month.

Dylan R. Simmons, 20, now faces two counts of second-degree murder instead of the initial single third-degree charge. Three new counts of second-degree assault were also added.

If convicted, Simmons faces up to 40 years in prison.

The charges were upgraded following additional investigative work, authorities said. New witness interviews, video, and a Minnesota State Patrol crash reconstruction indicated that Simmons intended to hurt or killed people with the car that day, according to the criminal complaint.

"We are actively pursuing the most serious charges justified by the facts," said Laura Perkins, spokesperson for the Washington County Attorney's Office, in a statement.

"As a result of Forest Lake Police Department's continued investigation of the case, there is new evidence to support more serious and additional charges against Mr. Simmons."

The woman killed in the crash was identified as Darisha Tela Bailey Vath, of Stacy. She died from traumatic head injuries, authorities said.

Around 1:20 a.m. on July 16, multiple Forest Lake police officers responded to a report of a person struck by a vehicle in the parking lot of Lakeside Veteran's Memorial Park.

At the scene, they found several bystanders standing around a girl laying on the ground, and one of them was performing chest compressions on her.

The girl — identified as Vath — was given emergency treatment, but ultimately died at the scene.

Witnesses said there had been arguments and physical fights involving two groups of people who knew each other, according to the criminal complaint. Both groups had armed themselves with a baseball bat, hammers, a crowbar, and a folding knife, authorities said.

After the conflict was deescalated, Simmons and one other person got into a white Mazda sedan, according to investigators. Simmons then intentionally drove toward several people, failing to strike anyone, but ran into another car, authorities said.

Simmons backed up and drove again toward the group of people, according to investigators. This time, Simmons struck the 17-year-old girl, driving over her with both the front and rear passenger side tires of his vehicle, police said.

A 15-second cellphone video shows Simmons' car "lift up" as it drove over Vath, authorities said. Simmons and his passenger then fled the scene, according to investigators.

Simmons was later arrested and — in a police interview — admitted that he knew he had struck Vath, according to the criminal complaint.