Dec. 10—ROCHESTER — The Chatfield man charged with criminal vehicular homicide related to a September 2022 crash that killed a Rochester motorcyclist entered a guilty plea in court on Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 10.
Nicholas Allan Sprau, 59, is charged with three counts of felony criminal vehicular homicide related to driving under the influence of alcohol and two counts of driving while intoxicated, both gross misdemeanors.
Sprau is accused of killing Rick Jay Hutton, 36, of Rochester, the night of Sept. 10, 2022, while turning left on Highway 52.
Sprau pleaded guilty to the third count of criminal vehicular homicide. In exchange for his plea, all other charges will be dismissed and a prison sentence would be capped at 41 months.
Eric Newmark, Sprau’s attorney, questioned Sprau about the events on Sept. 10, 2022. Sprau testified that he was driving on Highway 52 after consuming alcohol. Sprau said before turning left, he did notice a motorcycle traveling in the opposite lane. He recalled the motorcycle “closed the gap much faster” than he anticipated.
Olmsted County attorney Jeffrey Hill asked Sprau whether the motorcycle veered into his lane and if Sprau called 911. Sprau said in court the motorcyclist did not cross lanes and his vehicle’s safety and security system contacted 911. Sprau then confirmed that his blood alcohol content was 0.173 when it was taken two hours later.
“And you contributed to the death of Ricky Hutton?” Hill asked. Sprau answered that he did.
Olmsted County District Judge Erin Lindhart Felten accepted the guilty plea.
A sentencing hearing for Sprau is scheduled for March 3, 2025.
A Minnesota State Patrol trooper was dispatched to a crash on Highway 52 near milepost 36 to find Sprau’s 2018 Chevrolet Traverse partially in the driveway of a residence. The trooper also found Hutton’s 1984 Honda Motorcycle laying in the middle of the highway. There was significant damage to the Traverse and heavy damage to the motorcycle.
When the trooper approached Sprau he could smell an overwhelming odor of alcohol coming from him, the complaint said.
Sprau was headed northbound on Highway 52 when he turned left into his driveway on the 1300 block of Highway 52 Southeast. Hutton was headed southbound on Highway 52.
Sprau told the trooper that he saw the motorcycle but thought he had enough time to turn. The vehicles collided in the roadway.
He failed multiple field sobriety tests and blew a 0.185 during a preliminary alcohol breath test. Sprau was arrested for driving under the influence and transported to the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center.
While en route to the ADC, the trooper learned that Hutton had died at the scene.
Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for a blood draw for Sprau. An analysis of his blood showed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.173, the complaint said.
Witnesses told a State Patrol trooper that the motorcycle was traveling at a high rate of speed and had passed at least three vehicles before the crash, according to the complaint.
Sprau was coming home from a brewery in Fountain. Both Sprau and his passenger told law enforcement that they had been drinking.
Hutton’s autopsy determined he died from multiple blunt force injuries. He was not wearing a helmet, the complaint said.
A scene reconstruction determined that Hutton was traveling below the speed limit when he began braking before the crash.