Repeat DWI offender charged in SE Minnesota crash that killed 2

Randolph, MN (KROC-AM News) - Charges have been filed against a Kenyon man accused of driving drunk and in the wrong direction when he allegedly caused a crash last weekend that resulted in two deaths.

Twenty-eight-year-old Seth John Nechville is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in Dakota County Court on two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and a gross misdemeanor DWI charge in connection with the deaths of 68-year-old Peter Olson and 49-year-old Patricia Olson of Apple Valley. They were pronounced dead at the scene following a fiery head-on collision on Highway 56 on the east edge of Randolph late Saturday morning.

According to the criminal complaint, Nechville was traveling north in the southbound lane of the two-lane highway when his pickup truck collided with the victims’ southbound SUV around 11 a.m. When law enforcement officers arrived, they found the victims’ SUV on fire with catastrophic front-end damage. The court document says passersby had removed the victims from their vehicle and were attempting life-saving measures.

Wrong-Way Driving Call Reported Before Crash

The charges say the passersby identified Nechville as the driver of the pickup. Officers at the scene then learned that he was the subject of a complaint to law enforcement about a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction on Highway 56 about five minutes before the deadly crash.

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The court document also indicates that officers could smell the odor of alcoholic beverages coming from Nechville and observed that his eyes were bloodshot and watery. At that point, the criminal complaint says, Nechville denied consuming any alcohol the night before or on the morning of the crash but also stated, “I’m hoping to tear into it tonight.”

Suspect Admits Drinking Hours Before Collision

The complaint says Nechville later admitted that he had been drinking from about midnight to around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday while he was at his home alone. He also told investigators that “he did not feel the effects of the alcohol, but looking back on the situation, he should not have driven.”

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The results of testing of a blood sample obtained from Nechville are pending. The court document notes that his criminal record includes two prior DWI convictions in 2023 and 2019.

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