Man's BAC Was Twice The Limit In Crash Killing Jenna Bixby: Cops

HENNEPIN COUNTY, MN — A Blaine man was charged with three counts of criminal vehicular homicide, including driving while intoxicated, in a Brooklyn Park crash which killed a Nowthen woman, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Friday.

A blood test at the hospital revealed 72-year-old Richard Shaka's blood-alcohol content was .16 during the crash, authorities said.

According to the criminal complaint, about 8 p.m. on Feb. 17, Shaka was driving his Toyota Sequoia north in the southbound lane of Minnesota 252. He smashed head-on into a Hyundai Elantra "appropriately driving south" near Brookdale Boulevard, police said.

That car was driven by 30-year-old Jenna Bixby, a 911 emergency dispatcher at the Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center. Bixby was found dead at the scene.

During the crash, Bixby's husband Daniel was at the couple's Nowthen home. He was listening to police scanners, a hobby they shared.

Daniel heard an emergency called in from Brooklyn Park involving two cars. An officer at the scene reported a woman was "not breathing, unresponsive" over the scanner. Two hours later, Daniel learned that woman was his wife.

No first court appearance has been set because Shaka remains in the hospital.

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