A plea agreement has ended the case against an Amery woman responsible for a fatal crash nearly two years ago.
Authorities say Mariah Reindahl, 23, ran a stop sign on Highway N and struck a vehicle on Highway 27 driven by Reynold Elstad on Sept. 2, 2022 in the town of Barnes. Susan Elstad, a passenger in the southbound vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Reindahl originally wanted to go to trial, but pleaded guilty as part of an agreement involving charges of homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle and reckless driving causing great bodily harm. Two additional charges of reckless driving causing great bodily harm were dismissed, but read in.
Circuit Court Judge John P. Anderson ordered Reindahl to a spend a total of one year in jail and serve 280 hours of community service. She will also be on probation for four years.
According to the criminal complaint, Reynold Elstad told authorities he was traveling southbound on Highway 27 when a maroon vehicle blew through the stop sign and T-boned his vehicle. His wife was sitting right behind him. They had been out with friends and were headed to dinner. He and two other passengers in his vehicle were injured in the collision. Jacqueline Elsenmann, 59, suffered life-threatening injuries. Reynold Elstad, George Elsenmann, 61, and Reindahl were taken to the hospital.
A witness to the accident grabbed his first aid bag from his vehicle and attempted to help Susan. Another witness said Susan was breathing, moaning and blinking her eyes for roughly five minutes, but did not speak. She died of catastrophic blunt force injuries sustained from the crash.
Authorities say Reindahl was looking at the GPS on her phone on her way to Duluth. Leading up to the accident, Reindahl was sending messages on Tinder and Snapchat to a person named “Tom” from about 6:06 p.m. to 7:16 p.m. The last message sent by Reindahl said “I just looked at my phone for a sec to see where I was going and I crashed.”
Reindahl told authorities she didn’t remember stopping at the stop sign and was going about 55-60 mph. She denied drinking or using any drugs, which was later confirmed by lab tests on her blood.
Several family members and victims spoke during the hearing about Susan and how her death has affected them. Susan’s daughter, Kaylie Pilla, read a statement on behalf of her father.
“I lost the love of my life, wife and best friend. The pain will be with me every day because of Ms. Reindahl,” she said.
Sue’s sister, Sara Rust, said, “Sue was a blessing to have as a sister.”
“Senseless actions took my sister’s life,” she said.
Speaking for herself, Pilla said, “I hoped there was a humane explanation, but there was none.”
An emotional Reindahl apologized.
“I take total responsibility. I am very sorry. I should have known better. If I could go back and change everything, I would,” she said.
Anderson struggled with how to rule on the case, which he said is “not something I often do.”
“You don’t have an excuse. This was a choice,” he told Reindahl before giving his ruling. As part of her probation, Reindahl is not permitted to have a cell phone.
At least 140 hours of Reindahl’s community service must be spent educating kids about the dangers of using their phones while behind the wheel.
“Go talk to kids and warn them,” Anderson said.
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