Man Pleads Guilty to Causing a Crash That Killed A Belgrade Woman

(KNSI) – A man has admitted to causing a head-on crash while on drugs that killed a woman near Brooten.

Chad Jess Seitz pled guilty on Wednesday in Stearns County District Court to one count of criminal vehicular homicide, operating a vehicle on a Schedule One or two drug and one count of criminal vehicular operation, causing bodily harm while on a Schedule One or two drug.

On January 22nd, around 6:45 a.m., first responders were called to a crash on Highway 55 in Crow Lake Township. According to the criminal complaint, Seitz may have “dozed off” when his SUV crossed the center line and hit 41-year-old Cassie Mithaugen’s car. The Belgrade woman was partially ejected and died at the scene. A three-year-old in the back seat had cuts and bruises. Mithaugen’s family said she was on her way to drop the child off at daycare at the time of the crash.

Seitz told investigators he was a regular meth user and had used marijuana and methamphetamine on January 19th. He also said police would find a meth pipe, scale, and marijuana in the vehicle. A blood test showed Seitz had methamphetamine, amphetamine and delta-9-THC in his system.

The agreement calls for Seitz to serve six years in prison with credit for time served. The 53-year-old Coon Rapids man will be sentenced on March 13th. Five other charges connected to the crash and an unrelated drug charge from 2021 will be dismissed as part of the deal.

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