Passenger killed in crash south of Slayton, driver charged

A Slayton man has been charged in a fatal crash that killed his passenger in Murray County.

The crash happened at around 2 a.m. the morning of  March 11 on 71st St, south of Slayton.

A press release from the Murray County Sheriff’s Office says a vehicle went off-road, over an embankment, and crashed into a drainage ditch.

Kyle Gregory Einck, 35, of Slayton was charged Friday with four counts of felony criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the crash.

The press release did not name the victim.

A criminal complaint filed in Murray County Court says Einck was driving the car when it crashed and became partially submerged upside down in a small stream.

The complaint says a neighboring farmer used a skid loader to help deputies drag the vehicle to where emergency personnel could free the female passenger, but she was unresponsive and was later pronounced dead at an area hospital.

Einck, who was warming up at a nearby farmhouse, admitted he had been driving the vehicle, says the complaint.  Police say they smelled alcohol on his breath during the interview.

Einck was transported to a hospital, where he was aggressive and uncooperative, prompting staff to request police presence, according to court documents.

Police say Einck told the Murray County Sheriff’s Investigator posted in his room that he and the victim had been drinking in Woodstock that evening before spending time at Avoca Dam.  He allegedly also said he’d broken a window to escape the vehicle after the crash, and tried to help his passenger escape by using a rock to break the window.  He was not being questioned at the time, says the complaint.

Later, in an interview at the sheriff’s office, Einck allegedly admitted to drinking three whiskey Cokes and driving afterward.  He told police the victim had been making sexual advances during the drive, which had caused some close calls prior to the crash.  Einck estimated he’d been driving 20 or 30 miles per hour when the vehicle crashed.

Einck allegedly admitted to police he’d used methamphetamine a day and a half prior to the crash, but said he didn’t believe the alcohol or the meth had affected his driving performance.

Einck is currently booked in the Lyon County Jail awaiting court.