One of the drivers suspected of being involved in a fatal collision that killed two pedestrians in Roseville earlier this month told a friend he drove over something “hard” at the crash scene but kept going because he was intoxicated, according to search warrant affidavits in the case.
According to the recently filed legal documents, a concerned person contacted police to relate a conversation he had with Ronald Andrew Jacobson Jr. that connected him to the Jan. 3 incident.
The man said Jacobson, 61, of Roseville told him that he believed he was “the guy” police sought as investigators worked to piece together what led up to the fatal collision on Larpenteur Avenue, the affidavits said.
Although authorities believe it was John Michael Rickey, 72, of St. Paul who initially hit Robert Blake Buxton and Meredith Aikens as they walked across the roadway, officers reported that a second driver also was suspected of striking Aikens.
Buxton, 47, and Aikens, 45, who were crossing Larpenteur together, died at the scene of the 5:30 p.m. collision, just west of Rice Street.
While Rickey stopped his pickup truck immediately and has cooperated with police, the second driver reportedly drove off, prompting Roseville police to urge members of the public to come forward with information about the crash.
The concerned caller reported to police that Jacobson told him he had just left Tin Cup’s bar on Rice Street in St. Paul when he drove past the nearby scene on Larpenteur and “hit something hard,” the affidavits said.
The impact ripped his 1995 Chrysler LeBaron GTC convertible’s exhaust pipe off, but Jacobson said he was “in the bag” at the time and didn’t want to stop, according to the affidavits.
Police got Jacobson’s license plate and vehicle ID number and found his vehicle parked at Tin Cup’s two days after the crash. Officers pulled him over after he left the bar’s parking lot and arrested him on suspicion of impaired driving, the affidavits said.
While in custody, Jacobson allegedly said he had about four or five beers over three hours at Tin Cup’s on Jan. 3 and that he ran over something on his way home, according to the affidavits.
He told officers he didn’t stop to investigate what he hit but said his vehicle’s exhaust had been noticeably louder ever since, the affidavits said.
The arresting officer observed what appeared to be damage to the underbelly of Jacobson’s vehicle and noticed that part of its exhaust system seemed loose, the affidavits said.
Roseville Deputy Police Chief Erika Scheider said Wednesday that police recently sent evidence collected from both Jacobson’s and Rickey’s vehicles to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for processing. Among other things, investigators are trying to match tire marks found on one victim and a paint chip found on another to the right vehicle, according to the affidavits.
Police are also awaiting results of a blood test pending on Rickey’s blood-alcohol concentration. He told officers at the scene that he had two drinks with dinner before the crash, legal documents say.
Scheider said Rickey did not appear impaired at the time and that receipts from the bar he was at before the collision confirmed he only purchased two drinks.
Since Jacobson wasn’t arrested until days after the crash, there is no way to determine how intoxicated he was at the time, Scheider said, adding that investigators are exploring other means to determine if alcohol played a role in his suspected involvement.
For example, police executed a search warrant at Tin Cup’s recently to obtain surveillance video from the bar, according to an affidavit.
The search warrant affidavits were all filed in Ramsey County District Court.
In addition to evidence processing and waiting for test results, Scheider said much would be revealed by the accident reconstruction report still underway by the Minnesota State Patrol.
Once everything is complete, police expect to send the final report to the Ramsey County attorney’s office to review for possible charges, Scheider said, noting that she expects that step is still months away.
To date, neither Rickey nor Jacobson has been charged.
Neither could be reached for comment Thursday.