White Bear Lake man accused in fatal hit-and-run has prior DWI convictions, charges say

A 46-year-old man is facing three charges in a hit-and-run that killed a 72-year-old woman in White Bear Township, Minnesota, on Thursday afternoon.According to the criminal complaint filed in Ramsey County on Friday, Christopher Ronald Olson has been charged with three counts of criminal vehicular homicide. Police responded to the crash at Birch Lake Boulevard North and White Bear Lake Parkway around 4:22 p.m., charges say. Witnesses told police that the woman was walking on a "cleary marked crosswalk" when the driver of a Kia Telluride, later identified as Olson, drove through the intersection without slowing or braking and hit her, according to the complaint. Officials say the collision sent the woman flying 30 yards before hitting the pavement. She died at the scene.Charges say Olson didn't stop after hitting her. Olson stopped at the White Bear Lake Police Department with his mother around 20 minutes after officers responded to the crash. Charges say he acknowledged that he struck the woman. According to court documents, Olson smelled like alcohol, slurred his words and performed poorly on sobriety tests. He registered a blood alcohol concentration of .154 in a preliminary breath test, and a level of .08 in a second test around four hours after the crash. Olson admitted to drinking four shooter bottles of vodka after work, charges say, and said he was not paying attention to the roadway and hit a person crossing the road.Court documents say Olson admitted to fleeing the scene because he panicked. He told officers he takes sleeping and anxiety medications but does not combine them with alcohol. Olson said he did not use any intoxicating substances after leaving the crash scene. Police obtained a warrant to collect a blood sample from Olson. Charges say the sample's analysis is pending. Olson, according to charges, has two prior DWI convictions, in 2009 and 2012.