MN Supreme Court upholds conviction of drunken snowmobiler who crashed into fish house, killing boy

The state Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a Chisago City man who drove a snowmobile drunk on a frozen lake in 2018, crashing into fish house at 60 miles an hour and killing a second-grader. The high court affirmed the Appeals Court ruling that Eric Coleman’s rights were not affected by faulty instructions given to the jury during his trial. Prompted by the crash, lawmakers closed a loophole in state statute by passing a law named after 8-year-old Alan Geisenkoetter. It prohibits those convicted of D-W-I in a motor vehicle from operating a snowmobile, A-T-V or boat. Coleman had three prior D-W-I charges and his license was revoked at the time of the crash.