Celebration turned into tragedy Sunday night as a driver crashed into the outdoor patio at St. Louis Park's Park Tavern, killing two and injuring several people.
Charges against 56-year Steve Bailey were filed by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty late Tuesday afternoon. The man reportedly has a history of drunken driving with several DWI's and his blood-alcohol level at the time of Sunday's crash is reported to be .325, far above the legal limit of .08.
He did however have a valid license. Moriarty noted that despite having a license, his previous DWI arrests will be "hugely problematic" for Bailey.
Bailey has been charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide which killed Park Tavern employee Kristina Folkerts, a mother of three, and Gabe Harvey, a Methodist Hospital employee who was there to celebrate a colleague.
Moriarty also reports there were nine people injured, a much higher number than the previously reported three. She says there were children who just left the patio to go bowling prior to Bailey driving into it.
In an attempt to move forward, Park Tavern in St. Louis Park will reopen Wednesday after being closed the past two days.
Park Tavern's owner, Phil Weber, told WCCO's Adam and Jordana what the surveillance video showed.
"The person pulled into our parking lot, attempted to park his car and I believe he clipped a car that was next to him," says Weber. "And he was trying to park it and then he just turned and hit it, straight towards the patio and just accelerated. Nobody has any idea why this happened."
Weber also says that there will be an all-staff meeting prior to reopening and that moving forward will be difficult, but necessary.
Hennepin County is asking Bailey be held on $1 million bail and he will make his first court appearance on Wednesday.
Moriarty says the State Patrol is doing accident reconstruction on the scene and would have more information on what happened. Moriarty says there is clear video evidence that Bailey hit the gas instead of the brake causing him to drive into the patio area.