ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Prosecutors and defense attorneys disagree over whether there are legal grounds to unlock the cellphone of a woman accused of killing two teenagers and severely injuring a third in an eastern Minnesota crash.
Rachel Kayl, 32, was charged in May in Ramsey County District Court with criminal vehicular homicide, second-degree manslaughter and criminal vehicular operation, The Pioneer Press reported .
Kayl was driving between 77 and 85 mph in Arden Hills before striking a vehicle carrying three teen girls in December 2016, the State Patrol said. The speed limit in the area is 50 mph. Kayl’s excessive speed was the main factor contributing to the crash, the State Patrol said.
The crash killed Bridget Giere and Stephanie Carlson, who were both 16. Samantha Redden, who was 17 at the time, was injured.
Cellphone records indicate Kayl wasn’t talking or texting at the time of the crash, but prosecutors want to know if she was using the internet or an electronic application. Prosecutors are seeking to prove that Kayl’s conduct was reckless or grossly negligent.
The request is reasonable because “individuals involved in traffic accidents oftentimes are using mobile devices just prior to or during the time of an accident,” prosecutors said.
The request to unlock the phone violates Kayl’s Fifth Amendment rights that prohibit self-incrimination, said Adam Johnson, Kayl’s attorney.
“If the government may not resort to the cruel expedient of forcing evidence from a defendant’s lips, the government likewise cannot resort to the similar expedient whereby evidence is forced from a defendant’s thumbs,” the defense argued.
Johnson is also seeking to have the case dismissed on the grounds that the crash was caused by the driver in the other vehicle. Johnson alleges that Redden failed to yield to Kayl.
A judge will consider the arguments next month.
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Information from: St. Paul Pioneer Press, http://www.twincities.com
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