HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014 04-10 Vadnais Heights woman who fatally hit St. Paul motorcyclist, 92, gets 4 years PIONEER PRESS4/11/2016 Vadnais Heights woman who fatally hit St. Paul motorcyclist, 92, gets 4years —Twin Cities
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By u'J I:Y Wl11WI I egurnon@pioneerpress.com
April 10, 2014 1 UPDATED: 2 years ago
The woman who hit and killed a 92 -year-old motorcyclist in St. Paul had marijuana in her system and
lacked a valid driver's license and insurance.
Autumn Brenae Masan, 26, of Vadnais Heights had had her driving privileges suspended or revoked 15 times
in about half as many years by the time she struck Ray Kromschroeder of St. Paul, a prosecutor told a
sentencingjudge Friday.
Masan sped from the scene after the Sept. 13 collision.
Ramsey County District Judge Jay Bartscher sentenced Masan on Friday to four years in prison, despite an
impassioned plea from Mason's attorney to place her on probation.
Thejudge said Masan had been smoking marijuana after she had been sentenced for two check forgery
felonies in January. At that time, Masan was sentenced to 19 days, the amount of time she already had
served while awaiting sentence, and was released from custody.
"As a judge, I just can't ignore that," Bartscher said. "I know that you are sorry ... (but) you've been making
bad choices since."
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Several of Mason's family mebers, who filled about half the courtroom gallery, left sobbing when the judge
pronounced sentence and ordered Masan into immediate custody. At least two relatives, Mason's aunt and
a brother, stopped to tell Kromschroeder's relatives haw sorry they were for their lass.
In addition to the prison time, Bartscher ordered Masan to pay the victim's family nearly $38,000 for
Kromschroeder's medical expenses and to reimburse the Crime Victims Reparations Board for the $4,700 it
paid for his funeral.
Masan hit Kromschroeder at Prosperity and Ivy avenues in St. Paul about 7:45 a.m. One of her children was
with her in the vehicle, her attorney said.
Bath drivers had stopped at a four-way stop sign. Masan was headed west on Ivy, Kromschroeder north on
Prosperity.
A witness said Masan "accelerated in a manner that gave her the impression that Masan had became
impatient," the criminal complaint said.
After hitting the motorcycle, Masan stopped her 2000 Dodge Durango SUV. She gat out, checked on
Kromschroeder, then drove off.
"Witnesses said they tried to fallow the defendant as she drove away, but she drove away so fast they did
not feel it was safe," said Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Lawrence Schultz.
When Maplewood police tracked Mason at her house through her license plate, which fell off on
impact at the crash and was found atop the motorcycle, she admitted she had been in an accident.
Mason's mother, the Durango's registered owner, said Masan arrived home panicked and told her about the
crash.
Kromschroeder was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where he died that afternoon. His helmet had
flown off on impact, and he had suffered a broken skull, broken legs, broken ribs and a brain hemorrhage,
Schultz said.
Mason's record includes convictions for theft, aiding and abetting prostitution and driving while
intoxicated.
Kromschroeder's daughter, Janis Braaten, told the court he was so healthy and energetic, anyone would
assume he was 20 years younger. He walked regularly at Maplewood Mall, rade his motorcycle and had a
"very special friend" in a 100 -year-old woman, she said.
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Kromschroeder had attended farmer kindergarten teacher Kathryn Wingate's 100th birthday party two
weeks before the accident, presenting her with a dozen yellow rases, Braaten said.
He was scheduled to walk at the mall with a friend on the day of the crash. When he didn't show up, the
friend called Braaten. She tried his cellphone and an emergency roam nurse answered, telling her she to
rush to Regions, she said.
Upon arrival, she and other relatives learned Kromschroeder wasn't going to survive.
Family members miss the cards he would send on every birthday and anniversary, Braaten said. He was a
devoted father, grandfather and great-grandfather, she said.
"No one, and I mean no one, should die the way he did," Braaten said.
Mason's attorney, Cullin Smith, argued for probation instead of prison. The crash was an accident —
something that comes close to happening to many of us, he said.
"Far most of us, we have the moment of relief where we didn't hit that car, (or) child (or) motorcycle," Smith
said.
Mason's mother was a local activist, and Masan also had contributed to the community, he said. He added
that she is pregnant and would have to give birth in prison if incarcerated.
Masan tearfully expressed remorse in court, turning at one paint to Kromschroeder's family.
"I apologize from the bottom of my heart for what you guys are going through," she said.
Kromschroeder's daughter said the apology felt sincere, and the fact that Mason's family reached out
afterward "meant a lot to me."
"This is a sad story for everyone, (including) her and her family and her baby and her kids," Braaten said
after the hearing.
As for the sentence, Braaten said she believed it was just.
Emily Gurnon can be reached at 651-228-5522. Fallow her at
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