January trial dates set for New London man charged in crash with motorcycle

WILLMAR - Joseph Clayton Schaeffer, the 43-year-old New London man charged in connection with a July 2013 crash that seriously injured a man, appeared in court Thursday for a settlement conference on a felony charge of criminal vehicular operation.
No settlement was reached, and he will make his next court appearance Jan. 22 for another settlement conference, and Jan. 28 and 29 are set aside for a jury trial if no settlement is reached.
Schaeffer filed a motion in November to dismiss his charge, but it was denied by Judge David Mennis. Schaeffer’s driver’s license was also revoked in December.
The criminal complaint alleges that Schaeffer failed field sobriety tests and had a blood-alcohol content of 0.092 percent in a preliminary breath test at the scene of the crash July 26, 2013, at the intersection of Main Street and Second Avenue in New London. The threshold for drunken driving is 0.08 percent.
A Minnesota State Patrol trooper and Kandiyohi County sheriff’s deputies arrived to find Schaeffer’s pickup partially covering a motorcycle. The man driving the motorcycle, Michael James Knutson, 32, of New London was flown to St. Cloud Hospital for treatment of serious injuries to his left leg.
According to the complaint, witnesses allegedly told investigators that Schaeffer’s pickup was eastbound on Second Street, failed to stop at the stop sign at Main Street - which is also state Highway 9 - and struck the motorcycle. Schaeffer claimed he stopped and then continued east.