Avon Man Sentenced to Six Years for Fatal Drunk Driving Crash

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- An Avon man who pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a crash that critically hurt a St. Cloud woman and killed her unborn baby has been sentenced to six years in prison. Thirty-three-year-old Christopher Otte pleaded guilty to one count of Criminal Vehicular Operation, causing the death of an unborn child with a blood-alcohol level of .08 within two hours of driving, and one count of Criminal Vehicular Operation, causing great bodily harm with a blood-alcohol level of .08 within two hours of driving. He gets credit for having served 203 days in the county jail. According to the criminal complaint, two witnesses saw Otte's SUV speeding westbound on 5th Street North in St. Cloud before hearing a loud crash and seeing smoke arise from the crash scene. Video from a nearby business on 5th Street also allegedly showed Otte running a stop sign at the intersection of 25th Avenue North. The woman, 34-year-old Nastaho Amare, was pinned between the driver's seat and the steering wheel. St. Cloud firefighters helped get Amare out of the minivan as the front end caught fire. Amare's baby was pronounced dead when she arrived at the hospital. Court records show Amare needed surgery to fix her hip, femur, knee, and fractures to her ankle and foot. Police say Otte was unsteady and had slurred speech after the crash. He was given field sobriety tests and a preliminary breath test, which the charges alleged showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.20. Get our free mobile app During a search, police say they found a receipt from a sports bar that showed the purchase of four Crown Royal Cokes that morning. Police say in Otte's mirandized statement, he admitted to only having two Whiskey Cokes and twice commented that the crash was his fault. Otte has a previous DWI conviction in Stearns County from 2019. QUIZ: Can you identify 50 famous companies by their logos? How well do you know the logos of 50 of the world's most famous companies? Keep scrolling to see if you can guess which icon belongs to which brand. LOOK: 20 American foods that raise eyebrows outside of the US Stac  ker compiled a list of 20 unusual and uniquely American foods that might raise eyebrows outside the U.S. Gallery Credit: Charlotte Barnett