At 9:25pm on Saturday night, Dana Schoen drove his 2005 Dodge truck with alcohol in his system and killed a five-month old infant in a north-bound vehicle on Highway 29 south of Starbuck.
The accident took place near the intersection of County Road 41 and Minnesota Highway 29. A late-model GMC Acadia swerved to avoid Schoen's southbound Dodge truck but could not avoid a head-on collision. The front seat passenger was Brad Bigler, who is the head coach of the Southwest State University Mustangs men's basketball team in Marshall. Brad's wife Heather was driving, and Heather's mother was in the back seat along with the Bigler's five-month old son Drake.
Drake died at the Glacial Ridge Health System hospital in Glenwood from injuries sustained in the crash, which took place about one mile northeast of Schoen's home. Drake was born in February on the night that his father coached the SMSU Mustangs to an upset victory over then-nationally ranked St. Cloud State University in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament. The Mustangs advanced to the NCAA Division II tournament for the third time in school history under Bigler's leadership.
Schoen, who is 38 years old, has a record of driving drunk, with two convictions with incredible BAC levels in 2000 and 2004. Those convictions, on June 26, 2000 and December 8, 2004, included BAC levels of .28 and .27, respectively.
One thing in his favor is that he didn't kill any members of my family with his incredible disrespect for the sanctity of life. I'd be out for blood if that was the case. I have no problem with God showing mercy for him, because that's up to what God decides. That's no reason we have to show mercy.
May his soul burn in hell.