Former city employee sentenced in fatal crash

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More than two years after a car-motorcycle crash on Highway 61 in Cottage Grove that killed two people, the driver of the car has been sentenced to prison.

Michael Lee Anderson, 46, of Minneapolis, who was employed by the city of Hastings as a building inspector at the time of the crash (he was fired by the city in October 2007), was sentenced to four years in prison last Thursday, Aug. 20. The sentencing in Washington County District Court followed Anderson's guilty plea this spring to one count of criminal vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol.

The crash occurred June 10, 2007, on Highway 61 just north of 120th Street, and before Highway 95.

According to the criminal complaint against Anderson, Randy and Kay Metzler of Bloomington were returning from a motorcycle trip to Lake Pepin. They were traveling on Highway 61 when Anderson, who was not on his regular city time schedule, made a left turn in front of the couple. Kay Metzler was pronounced dead at the scene, and Randy Metzler died a short time later at Regions Hospital in St. Paul.

Although Anderson has three prior alcohol-related driving convictions in Minnesota and Wisconsin, prosecutors could not ask for a stiffer penalty because the convictions occurred more than 10 years ago.

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