Man Sentenced for Hitting and Killing a Pedestrian

(KNSI) — A Princeton man has been sentenced to four years in prison after prosecutors say he was high on painkillers when he struck and killed a woman who was walking along a road.

The afternoon of March 23rd, 2020, Catherine Lynn was walking on the side of Sherburne County Road 2 with another person when Thomas Jones hit her from behind. He stopped and told police that he became distracted as he reached over to take a drink of pop before the crash. He said he swerved into the opposite lane of traffic, but didn’t want to hit an oncoming vehicle, so he swerved into the ditch. He said he didn’t see anyone there before impact. He also told investigators he took his regular doses of morphine and oxycodone that day and insisted it did not impair his driving.

He was booked into the Sherburne County jail, where a Minnesota State Trooper Evaluator told investigators they believed Jones was under the influence of drugs, was impaired, and unable to drive safely.

Jones was charged with four counts of criminal vehicular homicide. In September of last year, Jones pleaded not guilty but pleaded guilty to one count of criminal vehicular homicide on October 29th. As part of the plea deal, the three other counts were dismissed.

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