Mistrial declared in fatal Apple Valley hit-and-run

Joan LeVasseur was hit on March 6, 2009, while running across Cedar Avenue S. at 153rd Street in Apple Valley and died a week later.

By JOY POWELL, Star Tribune

Last update: October 7, 2010

A Dakota County judge on Thursday declared a mistrial in a fatal hit-and-run case after the jury deadlocked.

Minutes after the decision, the parents of Joan LeVasseur, who died a week after she was struck in March 2009 while crossing Cedar Avenue S. in Apple Valley, expressed frustration.

On Wednesday, jurors had sent Judge David Knutson a note saying that they were at a stalemate in considering the charges against Eric James Hunter, 41, of Rosemount. Two of the 12 jurors had been unable to reach a guilty verdict after three days of deliberation.

In addition, on Thursday, a third juror asked the judge whether he could be excused from deliberations should they continue into next week because he had tickets to a sporting event.

"I am so frustrated that I can't even think," LeVasseur's mother, Patty Boever of Farmington, said after receiving news of the jury's deadlock.

Her 26-year-old daughter, known as Joanie, lived in Apple Valley. She was hit on March 6, 2009, while running across Cedar at 153rd Street, and died a week later at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

Months later, Hunter was charged with two felony counts of leaving the scene of a fatal accident and also of driving after his license was suspended.

"We are disappointed that the jury was unable to reach a decision in this matter," Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said. "This was an extremely serious incident that involved the death of a young woman, and we have every intention of retrying the case as soon as possible."

Said Patty Boever: "It's not what we wanted, but we still have a chance at him."

There's no question that the car Hunter was driving struck LeVasseur, who was deaf. The question that the jury grappled with was whether Hunter knew that he had struck a person before driving off without stopping or calling police.

Hunter testified in his own defense during the nine-day trial in Hastings, telling the jury that he didn't know what he had hit that Friday night. He claimed it wasn't until five days later, when he saw a news article about the hit-and-run accident, that he realized he had hit a person -- and that she was being taken off life support.

"How could you not know that you hit a person?" Boever said.

She and her husband, Bob Boever, said that LeVasseur's head had broken through the windshield of the car Hunter was driving, leaving a hole the size of a bowling ball, bits of flesh and blood in the broken glass and a tuft of her dark hair at his feet, beneath the steering wheel.

Assistant County Attorney Kevin Golden had questioned Hunter about why he didn't call police right away. Five days after the accident, why did he first call his father and then an attorney, whose investigator called police? And why did he tell co-workers that he rear-ended a semi but later told his nephew that he hit a deer?

LeVasseur had been in a crosswalk when she ran from the middle median across a northbound lane, against a red light. Because that caused the accident, the most serious charge that prosecutors could file against Hunter was leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

Had Hunter caused the accident -- or had he been found to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol -- he could have been charged with a greater crime: vehicular homicide.

"We're not talking about who's at fault," Golden told the jury. "What we're talking about is the defendant's obligation after he hit her to stop."

By the time police located and impounded the car five days after the accident, it was evident that somebody had wiped down the car where it was dented from LeVasseur's body, said Apple Valley police officer Jason Weishaar.

The victim's father, Leo LeVasseur of Otsego, said he believed that Hunter knew he hit a person. LeVasseur said his daughter had been running west to east, so she passed in front of the driver before he hit her with the right front of his vehicle, on the passenger side.

Joy Powell • 952-882-9017

Source: WCCO

APPLE VALLEY, Minn. (WCCO) ― Click to enlarge1 of 2
The investigation found LeVasseur crossed against the red light, so Hunter didn't cause the crash. That's why he was only charged for leaving the scene. At most, he could spend a year in jail.

Joan LeVasseur was walking to the Cub Foods on Cedar in Apple Valley to get some cat food the night she was hit.

Almost five months after a Twin Cities woman was hit in a crosswalk, a man is charged for leaving the scene of the crash.

Eric Hunter, 40, was charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor for the crash that happened on March 6. Joan LeVasseur, 26, was removed from life support a week later.

LeVasseur was walking to the Cub Foods on Cedar in Apple Valley to get some cat food the night she was hit. No one ever came forward to say they hit her. Days later and less than a mile away, Apple Valley police found a Ford Focus at Hunter's home in Rosemount. They found blood on the windshield.

When police talked to Hunter's co-workers they told them he'd been parking on a hill at work so no one would see his car. At one point someone heard Hunter say "they're going to take that girl off life support."

The investigation found LeVasseur crossed against the red light, so Hunter didn't cause the crash. That's why he was only charged for leaving the scene. At most, he could spend a year in jail.

Bob Boever is Joan's stepfather and can't believe the possible punishment.

"We were hoping than we could get on with getting Joanie some justice. That idea didn't last to long," he said.

Hunter hasn't said why he left that night, only that he didn't see her in the dark until it was too late.

"To leave your child for dead on the road is something that should be a stronger punishment. I think any mother and father in Minnesota would understand that," said Boever.

Hunter has also been charged for driving on a suspended license. Accident reconstruction teams determined he was not speeding at the time of the collision. He's being held on a $80,000 bail. Hunter is scheduled to be back in court in Sept. 21.

Rosemount man charged in deadly hit and run

Source: KARE 11

A Rosemount man has been charged in a March hit and run that killed a 26-year-old woman.
Eric Hunter has been charged with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident, which are felonies, and a misdemeanor charge of driving after suspension.

According to the criminal complaint, Joan LeVasseur was hit by a vehicle while crossing the intersection of Cedar and 153rd Street in Apple Valley on March 6.
LeVasseur suffered severe head injuries, a fractured pelvis, and fractures to both legs. She died about a week after she was hit.

Several days after LeVasseur was hit, officers were tipped off about a car that matched the suspect vehicle's description. Officers checked out the vehicle and it had damage to the windshield and hood.
Investigators got a search warrant for the car and, according to the criminal complaint, they found blood on the windshield, which was a DNA match to LeVasseur.

Officers interviewed Hunter's coworkers, who noted several unusual incidents. One man recalled seeing Hunter's vehicle parked some distance from the lot where employees usually parked their vehicles even there were available spaces. The coworker commented that a vehicle parked that far away was less visible to others.

Another coworker remembers talking to Hunter on March 13. Hunter allegedly said things were "going to get kinda weird around here." Hunter also noted that "they were going to take that girl off life support." The coworker asked Hunter if he hit that girl and Hunter allegedly told the coworker that he did.

According to the criminal complaint, the Minnesota State Patrol reconstructed the accident and determined that Hunter's vehicle was traveling between 39 and 46 miles per hour when he hit LeVasseur. However, authorities say a big contributing factor to the crash was that LeVasseur crossed the intersection against the light.
Authorities say Hunter's license was suspended last October and was still suspended as of March 6.

Man Charged in Fatal Apple Valley Hit-and-Run

Source: KSTP TV

A 40-year-old man was charged Friday in connection with a fatal hit-and-run in Apple Valley on March 6.

Eric James Hunter, of Rosemount, faces two counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving a death and one count of driving after suspension for allegedly fleeing after he hit Joan LeVasseur, 26, at the intersection of Cedar and 153rd Street.

LeVasseur was taken off life support on March 16, and died shortly after. Her family says LeVasseur was deaf and engaged to be married.

Officers questioned Hunter's co-workers, who say he admitted to hitting LeVasseur, according to the criminal complaint.

Police found a car at Hunter's home they believe was the vehicle that hit LeVasseur in late March. According to the search warrant, the Hunter's vehicle has a smashed passenger window and a two-foot hole in the body of the car.

Prosecutors asked for DNA for analysis because they believe the driver of the vehicle would have likely suffered injuries during the incident and that blood could possibly be matched to a potential suspect. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says blood from the vehicle matched LeVasseur, according to the complaint.

Driving records show Hunter's license was suspended in October 2008.

If convicted, Hunter faces up to over six years in prison, an $11,000 fine, or both.

Rosemount man charged after fatal hit-and-run

(Rach's note: Joan LeVasseur was her very close personal friend for over 20 years and was like sisters)

Rosemount man charged after fatal hit-and-run

By KATIE HUMPHREY, Star Tribune

Last update: July 31, 2009 - 5:51 PM

A Rosemount man has been charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor in connection
with the March hit-and-run accident in Apple Valley that led to 26-year-old Joan LeVasseur's death.

Eric James Hunter, 40, was booked into the Dakota County Jail today, charged with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving a death and one count of driving after suspension.

LeVasseur, engaged to be married, was walking to Cub Foods when she was struck March 6 in the crosswalk on Cedar Avenue near 153rd Street. She died about a week later after her family removed her from life support at Hennepin County Medical Center.

According to the complaint outlining charges against Hunter, witnesses reported that LeVasseur, who was deaf, was crossing the street against the traffic signal that was displaying a "Do Not Cross" light.

Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said that factored into the decision to charge Hunter with leaving the scene of a fatal accident instead of the more serious criminal vehicular homicide because pedestrians must obey traffic signals.

"If someone who causes a motor vehicle accident resulting in death flees the scene, the crime of Criminal Vehicular Homicide is committed," Backstrom said. "However, based upon the accident reconstruction completed in this instance, the accident appears to have been caused by the victim crossing the street against a red light."

Hunter has been at large since the accident, though police tracked down his 2003 Ford Focus with damage to the right front area, the hood and the windshield on March 11. A sample of blood collected from the car was analyzed by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and determined to be that of LeVasseur.

According to the criminal complaint, Hunter's coworkers had seen his damaged car. While working an overnight shift from March 6 to March 7, Hunter told one colleague that the damage was from an accident with a semitrailer truck in Lakeville.

A few days later, after hearing that LeVasseur was to be taken off life support, Hunter confessed to a coworker that he had hit her, saying he didn't see her and that it was dark.

An accident reconstruction by the Minnesota State Patrol found that Hunter's car was going between 39 mph and 46 mph at the time of the collision. The speed limit in that area of Cedar Avenue is 45 mph. The State Oatrol also concluded that one of the main factors in the crash was that LeVasseur failed to obey the stoplight.

Hunter's bail has been set at $80,000 without conditions and $40,000 with conditions. His next court appearance will be Sept. 21.

Katie Humphrey • 612-882-9056

Cedar transitway plans inch ahead

At the federal government's urging, Dakota County is taking another look at proposed noise barriers and access closings along the route.

By KATIE HUMPHREY, Star Tribune

June 11, 2009

As planning for the Cedar Avenue transitway rolls through the final stages, a couple of the barriers to completing the design are just that: noise barriers and access barriers.

Dakota County Board members want fewer of the former, despite urging from the federal government, and more of the latter, despite objections from local businesses.

Final decisions on the noise walls and the access points need to be reached soon because improvements on the 16-mile corridor are on a tight schedule, driven in part by the deadlines that come with 14 different funding sources.

The Apple Valley and Cedar Grove transit stations are already under construction, as is a park-and-ride in Lakeville. Commuter express buses will start running this fall and full-fledged bus rapid transit -- a station-to-station service that operates like light rail but features a bus in a dedicated shoulder lane instead of a train on a track -- is planned for 2012.

Work on utility improvements is scheduled for next summer, with other related road construction kicking off in September 2010.

But design, which dictates the necessary property acquisition, comes first.

"There are some things that need to be cleared up," said Commissioner Paul Krause, chairman of the physical development committee, after the board heard a staff presentation on the noise walls and a debated business driveway that will be closed.

The noise walls are a newer hurdle, something that the county and the city of Apple Valley had already chosen not to pursue, for cost reasons in one location and for aesthetic reasons in others.

But the Federal Highway Administration, which holds the purse strings on $22 million for the Cedar corridor, asked for more resident input at two locations in Apple Valley.

Residents of four properties along Cedar north of 160th Street said they would like a noise wall, as do residents of six properties along Cedar south of 153rd Street. Because those voices constitute a majority of reachable residents in the immediate area, the federal agency says noise walls should go in.

That option wasn't popular with commissioners, or the Apple Valley city administrator, who attended the meeting to note that the City Council had passed a resolution saying it did not want any noise walls.

Commissioner Tom Egan, citing the millions of dollars in federal funding that hang in the balance, said "I think we have to weigh this very carefully."

The access barriers were a more familiar issue. The county has been working for almost three years on a plan to close some driveways and limit turning at some intersections, but business owners at the meeting were still unhappy.

Brothers Mark and Joe Stranik, who own the Midas shop on Cedar near 155th Street, said it will hurt business if they lose their driveway on the thoroughfare. They have already lost parking spaces to station construction.

"It's kind of a big whack to take," Joe Stranik said.

Commissioner Will Branning said he wanted to see the county work with Stranick to see if the driveway could remain open.

But county transportation manager Mark Krebsbach said it's critical that the driveway be closed because it poses a safety problem, as it would cause drivers to merge into the bus lane, just as buses are pulling up to the Apple Valley transit station, to make the turn.

"Our Number 1 priority on Cedar Avenue is safe, efficient movement of people," he said.

Krebsbach also noted that the Midas shop and adjacent strip mall have two other access points, on Whitney Drive and 155th Street. Drivers would only have to go about 600 feet farther to make the turn at a stoplight, he said.

Katie Humphrey • 952-882-9056

CAR THAT WAS POSSIBLY INVOLVED WITH HIT & RUN WAS FOUND IN LAKEVILLE

A vehicle that possibly was involved with hit and run that injured a deaf woman last Friday has been tipped off and the police has found it in a garage of a Lakeville home. The vehicle owners' licenses are suspended. It was 2003 silver focus and it has been sitting in the garage since the incident.

Earlier today the group of Joan LeVasseur's friends held vigil at the crash site to pray and express their anger via media telling the driver to turn herself or himself in to the police to make the investigation easier.

VIGIL FOR JOAN LEVASSEUR WILL BE HELD TODAY

There will be vigil for Joan LeVasseur today at 4:00 PM at Cedar Avenue and 153rd Street in Apple Valley. People will meet at the sidewalk corner where Cub foods is at. That where Joan was hit while crossing the street after buying cat food on Friday March 6th at 9:15 P.M.

Rev. Cindy Dively and Deann "Bear" Dirkx will be leading prayer at the vigil. Rachel Eggert, Joan's good friend of over 20 years is leading the vigil.

The idea was bought up by Rachel's brother, Mike and some friends when they was at Joan's bedside to say final goodbye.

Joan was taken off life support today at noon according to her family last night.

Update on Joan LeVasseur

Once again, I am putting political writing aside and update you with Joan LeVasseur.

Yesterday I did visited her at Hennepin County Medical Center. She is still in critical condition. She is in deep coma and it's hard to tell when she will wake up because according to rating of coma, she is on level 3 which is worst (1 is worst 15 is good and recover quickly, will have good memory). She really have horrible brain/head injury and trauma. She is in critical and life threatening condition. She have several broken bones.

She had to underwent a couple of surgeries but will more if she ever wake up and remain alive.

Let's hope she wake up and recover. Joan's family have been praying and sleepless nights worrying about Joan so I am too.

According to KTSP (channel 5) there have been new lead in case: It's big tan sedan not van as what the police thought. They are asking car repair shops to watch out for big tan sedan with new dent/mark to help solve the crime.

Here is her caringbridge website: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/joanlevasseur

Joan and I have been best friends, very close personal and family friends since we was pre-school age.

Star Trib article on hit and run

Deaf woman is hit, injured in Apple Valley; driver sought

By ABBY SIMONS, Star Tribune
March 7, 2009

As Joan LeVasseur lay in a coma Saturday, family members pleaded for the driver who slammed into her and drove away to do what's right.
Apple Valley police say LeVasseur, 26, was crossing Cedar Avenue at the intersection of 153rd Street shortly after 9 p.m. Friday when an unidentified vehicle -- which witnesses described as a tan van, sport-utility vehicle or large sedan -- hit her in the crosswalk. She was listed in critical condition at Hennepin County Medical Center Saturday night.

Although several witnesses saw the crash, none could identify the vehicle or a license plate number, said Sgt. Joe Shaw of the Apple Valley Police Department. The van's front end may have been damaged when it hit LeVasseur, Shaw said.

Her mother, Patty Boever, who had moved her deaf daughter from school to school in search of the best education possible, wept as she described how a life of accomplishment could be derailed in a horrible instant.
"We work hard all our lives to keep our children safe and someone just does this and drives away?" Boever said, her eyes red-rimmed with exhaustion and tears. "This is insane. Don't people have a heart?"

LeVasseur's sister-in-law, Lori LeVasseur, said she suffered severe head trauma, including brain injuries, along with multiple fractures in her legs, pelvis, ribs and right hand. She remains in a deep medically induced coma.
Lori LeVasseur said her sister-in-law, who was engaged to be married, had recently embarked on a mission to lose weight. When she needed cat food Friday night she decided to walk the few miles to Cub Foods from the home she shared with her fiancé. Family members believe she had already bought the cat food and was circling back to pick up another item when she was hit.

"Joan was 26, responsible, and walked a lot. Everywhere," Lori LeVasseur said. "You wouldn't know she was deaf."

According the state Department of Public Safety, 33 pedestrians were killed and 957 injured after being struck by vehicles in 2007, the most recent year for which statistics are available. It was the highest number in three years.
Nearly 4 percent of pedestrian crashes result in death, compared to 1 percent of traffic crashes.

Members of LeVasseur's family huddled together outside HCMC Saturday afternoon, describing her as an animal lover who never turned away a stray. They continue to wait for LeVasseur to pull through, and plead for any witnesses -- or culprits --in the hit-and-run to come forward, if only out of decency for a young woman with so much ahead of her.

"Accidents happen and we need to do the right thing. We're hoping someone responsible for this will come forward," said Joan LeVasseur's stepfather, Robert Boever. "There's a lot of broken hearts asking for someone to come forward. Please."

Anyone with information regarding the incident is encouraged to contact the Apple Valley Police Department at 952- 953-2700 or the Dakota County Communication Center at 651- 322-2323.
Abby Simons • 612-673-4921

© 2009 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

I am pleading for someone to turn in after last night's run and hit in Apple Valley

I am putting political things aside and write about something else. My childhood best friend, Joan LeVasseur was hit by a hit and run driver last night in Apple Valley. I am pleading a person who drove tan van or SUV or big sedan to turn in to Apple Valley Police Department. If you know anyone who did, call AVPD at 952- 953-2700. Justice need to be served.

Joan have lot of thing ahead in her future and she is only 26. She was going to get married to her long time boyfriend sometimes next year. She loves animals and she loves nature.

Now she is in hospital lying in bed. She is in coma and fighting for her life to be alive. If she is alive, she will have long way to recover.

Not only her family are pleading so I am doing same thing so we don't lost that wonderful young lady. If you hit her or if you know who did, please turn yourselves in. Whoever did it was wrong to harm Joan. She don't deserve that.