Driver responsible for wrong-way death of Hannah Stoesz
Mark Wendland, 48, of Baltic, South Dakota, was sentenced today (Monday, October 9) in Martin County District Court in Fairmont to 41 months in prison. He will have to serve 27 1/3 behind bars, and the other 13 2/3 months on supervised release. Restitution has yet to be determined.
Wendland is responsible for a car crash that claimed the life of 21-year-old Hannah Stoesz of Jackson, Minnesota, formerly of Mountain Lake, Minnesota, in March.
Wendland had earlier plead guilty to one felony count of Criminal Vehicular Homicide-Operate Motor Vehicle with Alcohol Concentration of .08 or More in an appearance in Martin County District Court on
Monday, August 28. He had been facing three criminal vehicular homicide charges following a fatal wrong-way crash on I-90 near Fairmont on Tuesday, March 7 that took the life of Stoesz. The additional two charges included Criminal Vehicular Homicide-Operate Motor Vehicle in Grossly Negligent Manner and Criminal Vehicular Homicide-Operate Motor Vehicle with Negligence-Under the Influence of Alcohol. Each of the charges carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
In the criminal complaint, Wendland was accused of driving west in the eastbound lanes at Mile Post 99 in Fraser Township in Martin County, approximately two miles west of Fairmont, colliding with a SUV. Two sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and two semi-trucks were involved in the 7:50 p.m. crash.
According to the Minnesota State Patrol report, a 2006 Honda CR-V, driven by Wendland, was going the wrong way, heading west bound in the east bound lanes, when it struck a 2011 Ford Escape traveling east bound, driven by Tyler Schoborg, 19, of Westbrook, of which Stoesz was a passenger. A 2013 Mack 600 semi truck and trailer, driven by 33-year-old Jacob Oeltjenbruns of Granada, was also east bound on I-90, and began to pull onto the east bound shoulder. At the same time, a 2016 Kenworth diesel semi truck and trailer, driven by Nathan Grela, 39, of Billings, Montana, also travelling east bound, moved into the left lane to pass the Mack. The Kenworth came upon the crash scene, swerved to the right, lightly side-swiping the Honda CR-V, running into the back of the Mack. Both the Kenworth and Mack ended up in the ditch. Schoborg was hospitalized with injuries following the accident.
The State Patrol investigation stated that Wendland was also “extremely intoxicated” during the time of the crash. A blood test taken three hours after the crash found a blood–alcohol level of 0.188.