Charges Filed in St. Cloud Crash That Injured Mother, Killed Unborn Baby

ST. CLOUD (WJON news) -- Stearns County prosecutors have charged an Avon man in a crash that critically hurt a St. Cloud woman and killed her unborn baby.

Thirty-two-year-old Christopher Otte is charged with one count of Criminal Vehicular Operation, causing the death of an unborn child while under the influence of alcohol, and Criminal Vehicular Operation, causing great bodily harm while under the influence of alcohol.

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. She remains in critical condition.

Police say Otte was unsteady and had slurred speech after the crash. He was given field sobriety tests and a preliminary breath test, which showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.20.

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.

He's due in court on the latest charges on March 16th.