9-year sentence for Coon Rapids man in drunk driving crash

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A Coon Rapids man who drove drunk and killed a 16-year-old boy cried in court as he was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Michael Vanwagner, 25, pleaded guilty earlier to two counts of criminal vehicular homicide. A criminal complaint said Vanwagner’s Pontiac Grand Am hit a woman’s car in Brooklyn Park, and he then sped off and slammed into another car waiting to make a left turn.

The driver of that car, 16-year-old Jason McCarthy of Brooklyn Center, later died.

The Star Tribune reported that Vanwagner had posted a picture of his totaled car on Facebook shortly after the crash, along with a smiley face. Vanwagner said in court Friday (https://strib.mn/1HB47ZA ) that he didn’t know the post was associated with killing someone.

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Information from: Star Tribune, https://www.startribune.com