ATV Driver sentenced For Killing Pedestrian on Wobegon Trail

(KNSI) – A Sauk Centre man has been sentenced to jail for killing a pedestrian on the Wobegon Trail.

Wilder Brian Kuhlmann pleaded guilty to one felony count of criminal vehicular homicide operating a vehicle in a grossly negligent manner. Stearns County Judge Nathaniel D. Welte sentenced him on Tuesday. The 22-year-old will serve his 210-day sentence in 90-day increments. Eight other counts were dismissed. Investigators say Kuhlmann had a blood alcohol concentration of .11 at the time of the crash. The legal limit is .08.

A nearly five-year prison sentence was stayed for a decade, meaning Kuhlmann won’t spend any of that time in prison unless he violates the terms of his probation. He was also fined $1,000, will pay $5,792.84 in restitution and must perform 60 hours of community service.

Kuhlmann was riding an ATV on the trail around 12:20 a.m. on August 15th, 2021, when he hit 50-year-old Scott Nathe of Sauk Centre. ATVs aren’t allowed on the Wobegon Trail. Nathe was walking with a woman, and they were both hit. Nathe was taken to the hospital, where he died. According to court records, a 35-year-old woman with him was also hit and suffered a fractured pelvis, nerve damage and a broken arm. A passenger on the front of Kuhlmann’s ATV also suffered minor injuries.

All four people were leaving a party at a nearby property at the time of the crash.

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