Minnesota man sentenced to six years for meth-fueled crash that killed mom driving child to day care

ST. CLOUD – A Stearns County judge this week sentenced a 54-year-old Coon Rapids man to six years in prison for crossing the centerline of a highway while intoxicated and crashing into another vehicle last year.

The collision killed a 41-year-old woman and injured her 3-year-old daughter, whom the woman was driving to day care at the time of the crash.

According to a criminal complaint filed against Chad J. Seitz, a State Patrol trooper was dispatched to two-vehicle crash on Hwy. 55 west of Belgrade just before 7 a.m. on Jan. 22, 2024, and found a GMC SUV in the south ditch and a Honda subcompact car in the north ditch.

The driver of the Honda, Cassie E. Mithaugen of Belgrade, was found partially ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. A medical examination later indicated her cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries. Her daughter was hospitalized for a cut and some bruising.

At the scene, Seitz identified himself as a 39-year-old man with the initials K.R.K. and later told the trooper he provided a false name because he had a warrant out of Stearns County for violating the conditions of release on an ongoing case involving methamphetamine possession, the complaint states.

The trooper observed Seitz showing signs of impairment so the officer conducted a field sobriety test and obtained a search warrant for a blood test, which confirmed the presence of THC, methamphetamine and amphetamine.

Seitz told officers he might have dozed off while driving from Starbuck to the Twin Cities on the two-lane highway. He has previous convictions for theft, drug possession and driving after revocation.

Seitz pleaded guilty to one felony count of criminal vehicular homicide and one gross misdemeanor count of criminal vehicular operation in December. On Thursday, Judge Heidi Schultz sentenced him to 73 months in prison.

The maximum penalty for the felony count is 10 years in prison. Based on Seitz’s criminal history score, the 73-month sentence is within the state’s sentencing guidelines, documents state.