Trooper Criminally Charged After 'Full Throttle' Car Crash That Killed Teen
A Minnesota state trooper who had a history of on-the-job car crashes is facing criminal charges two months after hitting a vehicle at “full throttle,” killing an 18-year-old who was inside.
Shane Roper, 32, is facing seven charges, including manslaughter and criminal vehicular homicide, in connection to the May 18 collision that killed 18-year-old Olivia Flores weeks before her high school graduation, Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem announced Tuesday.
Roper was driving down the highway with a civilian “ride along” passenger on the evening of May 18, following a vehicle suspected of committing a petty traffic offense, according to a criminal complaint obtained by HuffPost.
Rochester police, who took over the investigation of the crash, said that Roper exited a ramp and turned his sirens and lights off before accelerating at full-throttle. In less than a quarter of a mile, Roper reached 83 miles per hour on a street with a speed limit of 40.
Roper’s squad car slammed into the passenger side of a Ford Focus with three occupants inside, including Flores, police said. The collision caused both vehicles to crash into a Toyota RAV4, which had two people inside, according to the complaint. The driver of the Ford Focus described Roper’s incoming speed as like a “rocket.”
Rochester authorities said no witnesses saw emergency lights or heard sirens, according to the complaint.
Flores, who was sitting in the back seat of the Ford Focus, died as a result of blunt force injuries from the collision, according to the complaint. Both the driver and front passenger were also injured in the crash.
During his interview with detectives several weeks after the incident, Roper stated that he was not in an active pursuit at the time of the crash and was not paying attention to his speed, according to the complaint.
Rochester police also noted that in the hours leading up to Flores’ death, Roper had repeatedly accelerated above 99 miles per hour without activating his emergency lights. That same day, Roper had hit 135 miles per hour in a 55 miles per hour zone to a medical assistance call without his lights or siren.
Disciplinary records cited in the complaint revealed that before Flores’ death, Roper was involved in four crashes caused by “inattentive driving or excessive speed” while driving his squad car.
Attorneys representing the Flores family said in a statement to HuffPost that Roper should not have been driving that day and blamed “institutional failures” for allowing him back on the road.
“It is heartbreaking and unacceptable to the Flores family that the State of Minnesota allowed Trooper Roper to be on the road in a Minnesota State Patrol squad car after knowing that he posed a clear danger to others,” the statement said.
Flores’ family is now calling upon state officials to open an independent investigation of the “organizational failures” that they said led to the teen’s death.
The Flores family is also exploring a federal civil rights lawsuit, Dan McIntosh, an attorney with the law firm the family has retained, told HuffPost in an email.
An attorney listed as Roper’s representative did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment. Roper is due back in court on Aug. 29.
The Minnesota State Patrol did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment, but a spokesperson for the agency told The Associated Press that Roper is on paid leave.
