ST, PAUL, Minn. (AP) - A Maplewood man, accused in a fatal hit-and-run, spent hours drinking at a bar before the crash, according to prosecutors in Ramsey County.
A criminal complaint filed Thursday charges Robert Kinney with criminal vehicular homicide-leaving the scene in the Jan. 22 crash which killed John Benjamin in St. Paul.
Police say the 68-year-old victim was walking near an intersection when he was struck. He was found in a snowbank and died at the scene.
According to investigators, they received an anonymous tip that Kinney was drinking heavily that night at the 5-8 Tavern in Maplewood and that his car matched the description of the one police were seeking. The bar is just blocks from where Benjamin was struck.
Kinney was arrested at his home Jan. 26. Police say he was told he was being taken into custody for a hit-and-run that happened Jan. 22. A criminal complaint says Kinney told officers he realized his car had some damage, but he didn’t know what had happened, KARE-TV reported.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Kinney has hired an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.