WILLMAR, Minn. - The 21-year-old driver accused in a crash that killed three family members has been released from the Kandiyohi County Jail.
Paul Wickenhauser is out on $50,000 bond and is being electronically monitored by authorities while his case proceeds. A search of the Kandiyohi County jail roster confirms that Wickenhauser is no longer an inmate there.
The Minnesota State Patrol says Wickenhauser crossed the center line on Highway 12 near Willmar Friday night and struck a minivan, causing it to careen into a ditch and catch fire.
Inside the van were an Eden Prairie woman, her two children and her mother-in-law. Michelle Hoffman, age 40, her 8-year-old daughter Julia, and Marta Stoffers of Atwater died in the crash.
Investigators later found an unsealed bottle of liquor and a cooler filled with beer in Wickenhauser's truck. Another bottle of liquor was found smashed on the road, and the Cokato man admitted to drinking earlier in the day.
Wickenhauser is charged with three counts of criminal vehicular homicide and open bottle.
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