ROCHESTER, Minn. – The man responsible for a fatal collision could be facing a longer prison sentence.
Sterling Royce Haukom, 35 of Rochester, pleaded guilty to criminal vehicular homicide in December 2021. Rochester police say Haukom was speeding and drunk driving when he crashed into another vehicle on February 23, 2021, on 8th Avenue SE near Lincoln Elementary School.
The other driver, Erika Cruz, 18, died from injuries she suffered in the collision.
A hearing was held February 9 on aggravating factors that could increase Haukom’s sentence. A judge has now ruled a longer sentence would be justified by three factors:
1. Haukom’s blood alcohol content was measured shortly after the crash at .25, more than three times the legal limit.
2. The crash data recovered from Haukom’s vehicle showed he accelerated from 6 to 60 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone just before the deadly collision.
3. Haukom admitted to police that he was angry about being thrown out of a bar before the crash and said he “stopped caring…about myself, and then I stopped caring about anybody."
No sentencing date for Haukom has been set. Criminal vehicular homicide in Minnesota is punishable by up to 10 years behind bars.
