LOCAL

Minn. man charged in deaths of Aberdeen motorcyclists pleads to misdemeanor

Elisa Sand
esand@aberdeennews.com

A Minnesota man originally charged with vehicular homicide in connection to the death of an Aberdeen couple has pleaded guilty to reckless driving.

Curtis M Petzel, 61, of Arlington, Minn., faced criminal counts following a June 1, 2019, crash on Minnesota Highway 19 near Sibley County Road 65 west of Henderson.

According to initial traffic reports, Petzel was driving a tractor and puling an empty 16-foot livestock trailer westbound when it detached and went into the eastbound lane.

Marvin Duane Fandrich, 60, was on a motorcycle with his wife, Kathy L. Fandrich, 61, in the eastbound lane. They crashed into the trailer and died at the scene. The couple was from Aberdeen.

The trailer detached because the ball hitch wasn’t the same size as the coupler hitch on the tractor, according to the crash report. The coupler was also rusted and not functioning properly.

Safety chains and breakaway brakes on the trailer were not used at the time of the wreck, according to the crash report.

Petzel initially faced two charges of second-degree manslaughter, two charges of criminal vehicular homicide, two charges of reckless driving and one charge of careless driving.

According to court documents, the two manslaughter charges were dismissed in April. His case was set to go to trial Nov. 17, but in a change-of-plea hearing Thursday, Petzel pleaded guilty to one charge of reckless driving.

In Minnesota, reckless driving is a gross misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $3,000 fine. A person’s driver’s license could also be suspended.

Sentencing has been set for Jan. 7.

A message left for the prosecuting attorney was not returned.

It was the second time Petzel was involved in a fatal crash on the same highway. In August 2017, he rear-ended a car in Gaylord, Minn. That pushed the car into oncoming traffic where it was struck by a motorcyclist, who died in the wreck.

“In that case Petzel said he was daydreaming and did not see the car. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor careless driving and was sentenced to two days in jail, community service and probation,” according to the Mankato Free Press.

Petzel