Man who crashed UTV while drunk in Minnesota and killed passenger gets probation

A 53-year-old man has been sentenced to probation for being drunk when he crashed his utility terrain vehicle in southern Minnesota and killed his passenger.

Lance E. Leiferman of rural Mapleton, Minn., was sentenced Tuesday in Blue Earth County District Court to three years' probation after pleading guilty to criminal vehicle operation while under the influence of alcohol in connection with the crash shortly before midnight on Sept. 15, 2022, near County Road 7 and 105th Street that killed Susan M. Quiram, 59, of nearby Elysian.

Judge Mark Betters' sentence includes the opportunity for Leiferman's conviction to be reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor if he abides by all the terms of his probation, which includes abstaining from alcohol and illicit drugs and attending a drunken-driving impact panel.

Leiferman told a police officer at the scene that he and Quiram were out for a ride in the side-by-side UTV when she yelled "hole!" She was thrown from the vehicle into the hole, and the UTV landed on top of her. He tried in vain to get the UTV off of Quiram before running for help.

Leiferman admitted having too much to drink, estimating that he had five to eight beers over the course of the day.

He submitted to a preliminary breath test about 1:25 a.m. Friday , 2 to 21⁄2 hours after having his final beer and it registered his blood alcohol content at 0.06%. That's within the legal limit. However, his degree of intoxication at the time of the crash likely was above 0.08%, the state's legal minimum to be considered drunk while driving.