Inset: Jordan John Weiland (Dakota County Jail). Background: Investigators at the scene of a fatal crash in Eagan, Minnesota, on June 14 (WCCO).
A Minnesota man driving upwards of 110 mph while racing a Jeep fled the scene and never called 911 when the Jeep crashed into a pole, splitting the vehicle in half and killing the two people inside.
Jordan John Weiland, 21, pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree murder in the deaths of 19-year-old Reed Robert Schultz and 18-year-old Finnian Thomas Cronin in Eagan, which sits just outside of Minneapolis. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dismissed two vehicular homicide charges. A judge will sentence Weiland on Sept. 1.
According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, cops responded around 11:20 p.m. on June 14 to a vehicle crash at the intersection of Highway 149 and Highway 55.
Authorities determined a Jeep, Honda Accord and Dodge Durango were street racing. The Jeep sustained "catastrophic" damage after colliding with a pole while Weiland's Honda crashed into a median. Its two occupants, Schultz and Cronin, were unresponsive. Both were rushed to the hospital where doctors pronounced Schultz dead. Cronin died a few weeks later.
Surveillance video showed the three vehicles speeding down the highway and weaving in and out of traffic. The Jeep and Honda appeared to lose control and crash. Cellphone footage from inside the cars that showed the speedometers revealed they were going 110 mph in a 45 mph zone.
The Honda, which had extensive damage, was unoccupied when cops arrived. Cops learned the car was registered to Weiland, who fled in another car after the crash. The driver of the Dodge, 24-year-old Melody Lynn Little, stayed on scene. She is facing third-degree murder and vehicular homicide charges and is set to go on trial in May, local ABC affiliate KSTP reported.
Little denied to investigators that the trio of vehicles was street racing, but admitted that the Jeep and Dodge were going "way too fast." She said they were all at a "car meet up" in south St. Paul earlier in the night and were on their way to another one in Eagan when the crash occurred.
Investigators tracked Weiland down at a hospital. He estimated they were going 90 mph when a curve "came out of nowhere," which caused both vehicles to lose control and crash.
"Weiland knew the Jeep was 'really f—ed up' but did not call 911," cops wrote. "Weiland claimed he was not thinking straight so he left the scene."
The defendant also admitted to taking two shots of tequila earlier in the day. His blood alcohol content was .013, which was under the legal limit of .08. He denied they were street racing but conceded that it "looked like" they were.
According to his obituary, Schultz was born in Guatemala and was adopted to parents who lived in Minnesota.
"Reed loved making connections with people of all ages. His love for sports, fishing, snowmobiling, music, and video games made it easy for him to start a conversation with anyone he met," the obituary reads. "Reed began playing baseball at age 5 and the sport helped him grow as a young person and it was where he made many connections with so many people. He learned multiple life lessons from his coaches along the way."
Cronin's obituary said he fought valiantly in the two weeks following the crash before he died.
"Finn continues to wield his superpower bringing so many people together — friends, family, neighbors, community — in such a beautiful way," the obituary reads.
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