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Man charged with vehicular homicide

A Cloquet man was charged this week with criminal vehicular homicide this week for causing a head-on crash in September that killed another driver.

Tony Northrup, 54, was charged Monday, March 15 in Duluth Sixth District Court in connection with the death of Melissa Kalinoski, 42, of Cromwell. According to the Minnesota State Patrol report, Kalinoski was driving west on Highway 2 east of Brookston when Northrup crossed the centerline and hit her head on while traveling eastbound on Highway 2. Kalinoski died at the scene and Northrup suffered noncritical injuries. Road conditions were dry.

According to the criminal complaint, Northrup admitted to drinking before the accident, but a preliminary breath test measured his blood alcohol at 0.031 percent, far below the legal limit for driving.

The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension tested Northrup’s blood that night for illicit drugs and found opiates fentanyl and norfentanyl in his system.

Northrup is scheduled to appear in court on April 14.