Man pleads guilty in hit-and-run crash
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A Two Harbors man pleaded guilty Monday to five counts of criminal vehicular operation-great bodily harm, admitting he was under the influence of alcohol when he hit a car occupied by a family of four on Midway Road last summer.
It was the second time that Rodney Drake Scandin Jr., 36, pleaded guilty after the previous plea agreement was revoked by the prosecution.
According to the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, a car occupied by four family members was stopped on Midway road facing north on June 26, 2020, waiting to turn west onto Stark Road, when they were hit from behind by a pickup truck. The crash forced the family’s Subaru into oncoming traffic, including a full-size truck pulling an 18-foot enclosed trailer. The work truck, trailer and Subaru ended up in the ditch on the west side of the road, and Scandin — the driver of the Ford F-150 — fled the scene.
According to the press release on the incident, five people were hospitalized after the crash with injuries including broken teeth, collar bones, ribs, pelvis and nose, and internal bleeding.
After police sent out a press release with a photo of the truck taken from nearby surveillance video, Scandin turned himself in.
Sentencing is set for April 15 in Duluth Sixth District Court. Scandin also has a prior DWI conviction from 2012. Each felony charge carries a maximum sentence of five years and or $10,000.
