First Court Appearance For Rochester Man Charged in Woman’s Death
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Rochester man charged with causing a deadly traffic crash in April made his first court appearance this morning.
20-year-old Deng Kwel was charged last month with criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the death of 22-year-old Cynthia Gomez on April 11th. The criminal complaint states the Rochester woman was driving north on East Circle Drive near the entrance to Quarry Hill Park when a southbound car driven by Kwel crossed the median and smashed into her minivan.
The court document says several witnesses told investigators they saw Kwel speeding and weaving in and out of traffic just before his car went into the median and crashed into the driver's side of the minivan and then rolled several times. One of the witnesses was driving a vehicle equipped with a dash camera that recorded a video of the deadly wreck. The video corroborated the witness statements and showed Kwel's car was partially airborne when it collided with the victim's vehicle. A reconstruction of the fatal incident estimated the speed of Kwel's car at around 90 mph just before the crash.
The judge presiding at today's court hearing set Kwel's bail at $20,000 without conditions but allowed his release without bail with conditions. His next court appearance is scheduled for October 26th.
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