Man is arrested after fatal car crash
One man is dead and another is in jail facing charges of Criminal Vehicle Operation/Homicide after a one-vehicle car crash on August 24.
According to the Le Sueur County Sheriff’s Office, Jarrett Fredrick Luethe, 26, of Sparta, WI, died after the vehicle he was a passenger in rolled in a bean field and started on fire at approximately 11:24 p.m. The accident happened at 141st Avenue, just north of the County Road 145 intersection in Lanesburgh Township.
When Le Sueur County Deputies responded to the scene, they found the car on fire and fully engulfed in flames. They also found a driver and passenger outside of the vehicle.
New Prague Police Officers were also on scene attempting life-saving measures on Luethe, who died at the scene.
The alleged driver, identified as Jesse Dean Brown, 34, of New Prague was also having aid rendered to him.
Brown was taken to Mayo Clinic Hospital in New Prague. During the course of the investigation, deputies suspected that alcohol had played a factor in the accident and followed the ambulance to the hospital. Once Brown was medically cleared, deputies had probable cause to arrest him for Criminal Vehicle Operation/Homicide and suspected DWI.
Brown is currently being held in the Le Sueur County Jail. The investigation is still ongoing and active. The Minnesota State Patrol is assisting with the accident reconstruction.
Responding agencies included the Le Sueur County Sheriff’s Office, New Prague Police Department, Minnesota State Patrol, New Prague Fire Department, and Mayo Clinic Health System of New Prague Ambulance Services.
For more details, see the print edition.
