Maple Grove Woman Pleads Guilty to Criminal Vehicular Homicide

A Maple Grove woman has pleaded guilty to one count of criminal vehicular homicide, according to a press release from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

Linda Lee Hamm, 61, pleaded guilty Monday in the death of 54-year-old Ann Blake who had been walking near Elm Creek Boulevard and Hemlock Lane in Maple Grove Jan. 31, 2012.

Police said the vehicle driven by Hamm drove “over a curb, onto the median and hit a pedestrian” who was later identified as Ann Blake, according to the complaint filed in February.

Hennepin County District Court Judge Daniel Moreno “immediately sentenced Hamm to 96 months in prison, but stayed that for 10 years an ordered her to serve one year in the Hennepin County Workhouse,” according to a press release from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. Hamm was instructed to undergo chemical dependency and mental health treatment, cannot use alcohol or non-prescribed drugs and will undergo random testing.  After she is released from the workhouse, Hamm will do 120 hours of community service.

The complaint filed by Laurel Slawson of the Maple Grove Police Department     provided the following details of the Jan. 31 incident:

On Jan. 31, Maple Grove Police received a report of a vehicle driving erratically. An officer located the vehicle as it traveled eastbound on Elm Creek Boulevard at Main Street in Maple Grove.

The officer pulled in behind the vehicle, according to the complaint, as it approached Hemlock Lane.

An officer  “…witnessed the suspect vehicle drive over a curb, onto the median and hit a pedestrian who was standing on the sidewalk,” Slawson said in the complaint, stating the vehicle then continued across the center median divider on Hemlock Lane before crashing into another vehicle.

The officer “rushed” to assist Blake, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. The officer then approached the vehicle driven by Hamm and noticed she had “watery, glassy eyes and was confused,” according to the complaint.

Police located an open bottle of vodka in the vehicle, the complaint said. Test results later showed Hamm’s blood-alcohol content was .18 two hours after the incident.

Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter

Additional details from Monday’s court hearing can be found on the StarTribune.com article here. 

Other stories relating to this incident:

Maple Grove Woman Charged With Criminal Vehicular Homicide in Pedestrian Death

Investigation Continues into Pedestrian Fatality at Maple Grove Intersection