TSR Injury Law

Pedestrian Killed by Hit and Run, Drunk Driver

A 44 year-old Champlin woman was killed in a crosswalk by a hit and run, drunk driver Sunday morning.  Christopher Mark Beussman, 34, now faces 3 counts of felony vehicular homicide charges, in Hennepin County District Court, for his role in the hit and run accident. He even admits to knowing that he was drunk when it got behind the wheel of his vehicle.

The victim, Heather Lyn Solberg, mother of two, had been to the Father Hennepin Festival fireworks display with friends and was crossing Hwy. 169 at Hayden Lake Road, in Champlin, around 12:25 a.m. Sunday. She sustained a head injury and broken bones in her arms and legs. She died on the way to the hospital.

An eyewitness, who called 911, told police that Solberg was hit by a speeding white vehicle that may have run a red light. The car then fled the scene, turning into a residential neighborhood trying to elude authorities.
Osseo and Maple Grove police succeeded in tracking down the vehicle about 12:45 a.m., the driver's seat held Ashley Marie Whitney, 23, from Princeton. Christopher Beussman, who had switched to the passenger seat, told police he was the driver when Solberg was struck. There were traces of blood on the car and damage to the windshield and right, front tire.

Beussman and Whitney had been drinking at an Anoka bar and failed field sobriety tests. The preliminary breath tests showed blood-alcohol contents of more than twice the legal limit. (Beussman, 0.175 percent and Whitney 0.195 percent.) Beussman remains in custody.

Minnesota Personal Injury Attorney and Lawyer

If you have been injured in a drunk driving accident or a hit and run accident, call a Minnesota Personal Injury Lawyer from TSR Injury Law. Our partners are skilled, aggressive litigators with years of experience in personal injury and wrongful death cases. They are consistently named Super Lawyers and Top Lawyers by their peers. Chuck Slane has been recognized as a Minnesota Top 40 Personal Injury Plaintiff Lawyer. Call 612-362-0000 or submit our contact form.