Former MN State Patrol trooper pleads not guilty in deadly Rochester crash
The Brief
A former Minnesota State Patrol trooper pleaded not guilty to criminal vehicular homicide and manslaughter stemming from a deadly crash in May 2024.
Shane Roper, 33, was terminated from the patrol after department leaders said his "reckless" actions caused the death of 18-year-old Oliva Flores.
A jury trial is tentatively set for early March 2026, with pre-trial motions set to begin in late February.
ROCHESTER, Minn. (FOX 9) - A former State Trooper charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminal vehicular homicide pleaded not guilty, setting the case up for trial next year.
Shane Roper, 33, is accused of causing a crash that resulted in the death of 18-yaer-old Olivia Flores in Rochester when he was allegedly speeding in a Minnesota State Patrol cruiser without its emergency lights activated.
Court records show a jury trial is tentatively set to start on March 2, 2026.
READ MORE: 'Reckless' actions of former MN trooper decried by agency leaders for fatal crash
Big picture view
The fatal three-vehicle crash happened near Apache Mall in Rochester, Minnesota, on May 18.
Investigators say a Ford Focus was westbound on 12th Street Southwest when it turned south into the mall. The Focus was then struck by a Minnesota State Patrol cruiser that was driven by Roper, which was eastbound on the same street.
Flores, of Owatonna, was a passenger in the Ford Focus and was killed in the crash.
A Toyota RAV4 then ended up in the ditch after the Ford Focus was pushed into it.
A total of six people, including Roper, were injured in the crash.
Roper's employment with the Minnesota State Patrol was terminated in September 2024, with agency leaders calling his actions "reckless."
READ MORE: MN State Trooper charged in Rochester crash that killed teen no longer employed
Dig deeper
The personnel file Roper reveals he had faced disciplinary action for four previous crashes before the fatal wreck.
The file shows Roper was involved in four crashes between February 2019 and April 2023 before the crash outside Apache Mall in May that killed Flores.
Reviewing his behavior before the crash, investigators found several instances where Roper drove at high speeds in just the three hours before he crashed into the vehicle carrying Flores.
Roper was suspended for a day in two of the crashes and reprimanded for the other two.READ MORE: File shows MN trooper involved in 4 crashes before deadly Rochester wreck
Just before the deadly crash in Rochester, investigators said he was driving at an excessive speed on a city street – apparently trying to catch up with a driver who had committed a minor traffic offense.
The Source
This story uses information from public court records and past FOX 9 reporting.
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