30 September 2023
A motorist has pleaded guilty to striking and killing a 29-year-old pediatric nurse in Falcon Heights in 2021, but her brother said Friday “there really is just no justice.”
Abigail Anderson was the sister of Gabriele “Gabe” Grunewald, and both had been runners at the University of Minnesota. Grunewald, a professional runner, died of cancer in June 2019 at age 32.
Zachary Anderson, the oldest of the sisters’ three brothers, said losing his two sisters has been “tough … a long road. But, mostly, my heart goes out to my parents,” he said, adding that he and his wife have a 2-year-old. “I cannot imagine something happening to a child.”
Anderson was walking on the grass by the U of M’s golf course and soccer stadium on Larpenteur and Cleveland avenues about 6:45 p.m. Aug. 14, 2021. Ramsey County prosecutors say Melinda Jean Dotray, 47, had illegal drugs in her system when she drove more than 60 mph in a pickup truck, smashed into a parked car, careened off the road, and hit and then ran over Anderson.
Four months later, after a toxicology report came back and the accident reconstruction was completed, Dotray was charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and one count each of manslaughter and drug possession. Prosecutors added a third-degree murder charge in February 2022.
Results of Dotray’s blood tested by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension showed amphetamine, methamphetamine and fentanyl in her system, the charges said.
A review of data from Dotray’s pickup truck indicated it was traveling as fast as 64 mph in a 40 mph zone, and there was no evidence of braking before she crashed into the parked car.
Dotray pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of criminal vehicular homicide after reaching an agreement with the prosecution. The other charges will be dismissed at sentencing.
Melinda Jean Dotray (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)
Prosecutors were unable to support the murder charge, “where we must prove she had a ‘depraved mind,’” said Dennis Gerhardstein, county attorney’s office spokesman. “The original (criminal vehicular homicide) charge was the appropriate charge for the conduct on the day in question.”
Dotray, who lives in Fountain, Minn., just south of Rochester, was conditionally released Thursday after the plea hearing. She is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 13, and faces up to 10 years in prison.
Dotray’s attorney did not return a call Friday for comment.
‘Abby is gone’
Zachary Anderson said he and other family members watched Dotray’s plea hearing through Zoom.
“Our family is faith-based, and we understand that Ms. Dotray has to deal with her repercussions,” he said. “But, at the same time, we’re mostly just sad that Abby is gone. And there’s nothing that the courts can do about that.”
Regardless of how severe of a charge Dotray received and how long the punishment, Zachary Anderson said, “Abby is not going to be coming back.”
A number of witnesses told investigators what they saw during the crash. A golfer said “he heard a thunderous collision” and saw Anderson fly 30 to 40 feet in the air before landing in the golf course. The truck’s driver made “an aggressive U-turn” and he thought she drove over Anderson.
Witnesses said Dotray drove back onto Cleveland Avenue, and a man who thought she was going to drive away removed the key from the ignition.
Deputies detained Dotray after the crash and she dozed off in the back of a squad car.
“Dotray said she felt bad and that she wasn’t trying to flee the scene — she was just trying to get off the golf course,” according to the complaint. She also told deputies that she had nodded off and should have stopped, but was too tired.
Dotray’s only criminal conviction in Minnesota was for driving with an expired license in 2013. She had a valid driver’s license at the time of the August crash, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
Additional charges
Dotray picked up two additional criminal cases — both in Fillmore County this year — after being released from the Ramsey County jail on a $500,000 bond.
In January, she was charged with felony theft by check and issuing a dishonored check, also a felony.
She was charged in May with felony possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) and five other drug-related offenses, as well as a misdemeanor charge of receiving stolen property, after sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant at a house she shared with her boyfriend.
According to the criminal complaint, deputies looking for stolen items found methamphetamine, hypodermic needles and drug paraphernalia on top of a dresser in a bedroom, which did not have a door. “These items would have been accessible to any of the three children … that live in the house,” the complaint said.
Gerhardstein, of the Ramsey County attorney’s office, said Friday that Dotray’s new alleged offenses “will be part of our sentencing argument and thus something for the court to consider pending the pre-sentencing investigation.”
Inspired by her sister
Anderson, of Minneapolis, grew up in Perham, Minn. She worked for Children’s Minnesota and was in her second year of training to become a certified nurse practitioner.
“Abby was inspired by her sister and always seemed to follow Gabe’s example and cherished her time as a Gopher runner,” her obituary said.
Anderson had spent countless hours organizing, fundraising and participating with the Brave Like Gabe Foundation, the nonprofit started by her sister to raise awareness for cancer research. The foundation is a charity partner with this weekend’s Twin Cities Marathon’s 10-mile race.
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