Crime & Safety
Trial for Rosemount Man Charged in Fatal Hit-and-Run Pushed Back a Year
Rosemount man Eric James Hunter originally was scheduled to be retried Monday in Dakota County Court, but the trial is now scheduled for October 2012.
A second trial scheduled to begin Monday in the case against a Rosemount man charged in a 2009 fatal hit-and-run in Apple Valley has been pushed back a year.
The new jury trial for Eric James Hunter, 42, is now scheduled to begin Oct. 22, 2012 in Dakota County Court, court records show.
Hunter is charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident and driving with a suspended license in connection with the death of Joan LeVasseur, 26, who was deaf, on March 6, 2009.
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Hunter originally was tried on the charges in October 2010. That trial ended when the jury was unable to reach a verdict and Dakota County Judge David Knutson declared a mistrial.
Witnesses told they saw LeVasseur crossing the intersection of Cedar and 153rd Street against the traffic signal, which was displaying a do-not-walk light. They also told officers the vehicle that struck LeVasseur immediately left the scene.
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After police investigated and found evidence, Hunter allegedly told police that he’d hit LeVasseur, but that it was dark and he hadn’t seen her in the crosswalk.
LeVasseur's family took her off life support a week after the incident.
Read more about the investigation and evidence .
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