A teenager from Minnesota was intoxicated and demonstrating a new noise modification on his pickup truck’s exhaust when he overturned the vehicle, resulting in the death of his classmate passenger.
Izak Schermerhorn, 18, was charged on Thursday with three counts of criminal vehicular homicide following the accident that claimed the life of 18-year-old Blake Unger, who was ejected from the truck and trapped underneath it, KMSP reported.
Unger was pronounced dead at the scene, the Minneapolis Star Tribune said.
A criminal complaint said that the truck was “fishtailing” on the gravel road before the Tuesday crash, KMSP said.
The complaint notes, “Deputy Peterson observed deep ruts in the road, indicating that the driver had been aggressively fishtailing back and forth along the gravel road before overturning.”
Schemerhorn reportedly told deputies he “intentionally had been sliding around the road befoer the crash and was not able to control the vehicle when it went into the ditch.”
According to the complaint, Scermerhorn was concerned that “his life was oer and all for a couple of drinks,” saying “he f***** up.”
He told deputies he drank three or four Mike’s Hard Lemonades beefore the crash to celebrate his recent high school graduation.
A breathalizer test found Schermerhorn’s blood alcohol level was at 0.103 percent, higher than the legal limit for adult drivers, the Star Tribune reported. Drivers under 21 aren’t allowed to have any alcohol in their systems.
Schermerhorn was arraigned on Thursday and released on a $1,000 cash bond provided he seeks counseling, doesn’t use drugs or alcohol, and stays out of further trouble.
Unger, the victim, was a multi-sport athlete and homecoming king. Both Unger and Schemerhorn graduated from New York Mills High School last Friday.
