Witnesses put suspected drunk driver's speed at 90-100 mph before fatal St. Paul crash

Yahoo

14-05-2025

A St. Paul motorist was under the influence of alcohol and going over 100 mph when he blew through a red light and crashed into a sport-utility vehicle and killed the driver, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday.
The collision happened just after 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Dale Street and Arlington Avenue. Marvin Martin Scroggins, 42, of St. Paul, was the crash victim and died at the scene, police said Tuesday.
Motorist Paw Moo Htoo, 30, of St. Paul, was injured and remained hospitalized at Regions Hospital as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the Ramsey County District Court complaint charging him by warrant with criminal vehicular homicide as a result of operating a motor vehicle in a negligent manner while under the influence of alcohol.
Police officers called to the scene at 7:37 p.m. found Scroggins unresponsive and trapped inside his Volvo XC90. The driver's side of the SUV had a 'large, catastrophic impact area' and rested on the front part of a Honda Accord, the complaint says.
Scroggins, who was still in his seatbelt, was extricated from the Volvo, which had deployed airbags. Medics worked on Scroggins inside an ambulance, but he was pronounced dead at 8:08 p.m.
The Honda had severe front-end damage consistent with having crashed into the SUV, the complaint says.
Htoo was seated on the grass and smelled of alcohol. He had blood on his arms and hands, and he did not answer when asked if he needed medics. When asked about the crash, Htoo said, 'I was not driving. I was not the driver,' the complaint says.
One witness told police she was driving north on Dale Street and saw the Honda going west on Arlington Avenue at what she estimated to be 90 mph. When the Volvo entered the intersection to go south on Dale Street, the Honda crashed into it without stopping, the witness said.
The posted speed limit on Arlington Avenue is 25 mph.
Another witness estimated the Honda had been going 100 mph. The driver climbed out the car from the driver's window, the witness told police, adding no one else got out of the car.
The witness believed the driver, whose speech was slurred, was trying to leave the scene. Bystanders got him to sit down at the scene.
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Two other witnesses who had been walking in the area told police they saw the Honda driver going around 50 mph prior to the crash. One said he did not stop before approaching the intersection, which had red flashing lights in all directions, and crashed into the Volvo in the middle of the intersection.
Officers found nine empty beer cans inside Htoo's Honda.
Htoo was transported to Regions Hospital, where he had emergency surgery for his injuries.
A blood sample was collected from Htoo for testing by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension; results weren't back as of Tuesday.
Preliminary distance and speed calculations by law enforcement indicate Htoo was traveling more than 100 mph at the time of impact, the complaint says.