David Kevin Medicine

WUORI – A 61-year-old Tower woman, who was the passenger in a vehicle driven by an intoxicated driver, was killed here last Saturday evening when the 2013 Chevy Impala she was riding in rear-ended a pickup truck at the site of a traffic stoppage at the junction of Hwy. 169 and Fireweed Rd.
Cathy M. Johnson was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, which left several others with non-life-threatening injuries.
David Kevin Medicine, age 38, of Virginia, is being held without bail in the St. Louis County Jail, facing four counts in the wake of the accident, including two separate counts of criminal vehicular homicide. Both felony charges carry a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a $20,000 fine, or both. Medicine also faces two gross misdemeanor counts for criminal vehicular operation under the influence of a controlled substance.
Medicine, whose license was revoked years ago and never reinstated, was behind the wheel of the northbound Impala when it rear-ended a Ram 1500 pickup, which was stopped in the northbound lane during a traffic tie-up. Reports from the scene said another pickup truck, pulling a trailer, had tried to turn around on the highway, just prior to the accident, and had gotten stuck. A line of cars was waiting in both directions for the pickup truck to get out of the way when the accident occurred. Conditions were wet at the time of the incident.
According to a statement of probable cause, one of the occupants of the Impala, Angie Buckanaga, acknowledged to a state trooper that she and Medicine had been smoking marijuana while traveling back and forth from Virginia. Medicine also reportedly acknowledged drinking two shots of alcohol about an hour and a half prior to the crash. A breath test administered at the scene showed a preliminary reading of 0.009, which is well below Minnesota’s current blood limit of 0.08. Results of a blood test were pending as of presstime.
The driver of the pickup, Gregory J. Lenz, 58, of Embarrass, and passengers Carl Brummund, 56, of Ely, were both treated for non-life-threatening injuries. A third passenger, Henry Lenz, 14, of Embarrass, was not injured. Reports from the scene said the Ram had its emergency flashers illuminated at the time of the accident.
Medicine and another passenger, Angela Buckanaga, 45, of Tower, were both treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Essentia Health-Virginia. Medicine was then taken into custody and booked into the St. Louis County Jail.
The Minnesota State Patrol, St. Louis County Sherriff’s Department, Tower EMS, Virginia Fire and EMS, and Britt Fire Department all responded at the scene.