LITCHFIELD - A woman has pleaded guilty to criminal vehicular homicide and operation charges related to a fiery April crash that killed a Litchfield woman and seriously injured five others.
Noelle Anise Pridgen was charged in August with two felony counts of criminal vehicular homicide and operation, two gross misdemeanor counts of criminal vehicular operation and a misdemeanor for no proof of insurance.
On Jan. 5, she pleaded guilty in Meeker County District Court to the four most serious charges. The no proof of insurance charge was removed from the criminal complaint.
The Ontonagon, Michigan, woman was allegedly high on THC and cocaine when she blew through a Darwin stop sign on April 15, resulting in the fatal crash.
Christina L. Crottier, 36, died in the late night, two-car crash on Meeker County Road 14 and U.S. Highway 12. Crottier's husband, Billy J. Crottier, then 35, was left with a traumatic brain injury and broken ribs.
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Their children, 3-year-old Alexis Crottier and 7-year-old Zachary Crottier, were also seriously injured, one of whom also had broken ribs and a concussion.
Pridgen and a passenger, Tamya D. Hill, then 20, of Kittery, Maine, also suffered serious injuries in the crash.
The 2007 Dodge Magnum carrying the Crottier family was engulfed in flames following the crash, according to the criminal complaint, and Christina Crottier was unable to be removed from the vehicle.
Prior to the plea agreement, the case had been set for a Jan. 9 jury trial, and the Meeker County prosecution in the case had submitted several motions seeking more severe sentencing in both duration and disposition.
In court documents filed last month, Meeker County Attorney Brandi Schiefelbein argued that the crime was more serious than "typical," alleging Pridgen had been driving 59 mph in a 30 mph speed zone.
"The defendant's actions combined with her criminal record shows that she demonstrated 'callous disregard for and total indifference to' the consequences of substance abuse, the laws of the state, and safety of others," Schiefelbein wrote.
She referenced past drug and open bottle charges in Michigan and Florida, writing that Pridgen was in need of long-term treatment. She also argued that Pridgen is not amenable to probation.
In another motion attacking Pridgen's credibility as a witness in her own case, Schiefelbein wrote that Pridgen was convicted in 2013 of battery on a law enforcement officer, a crime the prosecution wanted to use as evidence for past criminal conduct and convictions.
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Pridgen's defense team also submitted its own motion earlier in December, attempting to suppress Pridgen's statement to law enforcement after the crash, arguing it was not voluntarily given and that she did not voluntarily waive her right to remain silent.
Pridgen spoke to a State Patrol trooper from her hospital bed after the crash. She allegedly told the trooper that she had consumed one line of cocaine two days prior, and smoked marijuana one day previously.
She also reportedly could not remember where she was going or what she had been doing the night of the crash.
"I can't remember anything except ... I remember driving. I just remember being on a long, dark road," Pridgen allegedly told the trooper, according to court documents.
On Dec. 9, Judge Stephanie Beckman denied Pridgen's request to suppress those statements, ruling that she had voluntarily waived her Miranda rights by speaking to the trooper.
The other motions were not ruled upon due to the plea agreement. As jointly recommended in the plea agreement, Pridgen is now expected to serve a concurrent, bottom-of-the-box sentence for the crime, referring to the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines grid.
The lowest recommended sentence for criminal vehicular homicide is 41 to 57 months for an offender with no previous criminal history.
Pridgen's sentencing hearing is set for March 27.
