Holdingford Man Sentenced for Deadly Head-On Crash

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- A Holdingford man who caused a fatal crash in the fall of 2020 has been sentenced.

A Stearns County judge has sentenced 24-year-old Jacob Westbrock to a stayed sentence of five years and nine months in prison. In a downward dispositional departure, the judge also sentenced Westbrock to 240 days in the county jail in four staggered 60-day sentences. Court records show the 3rd and 4th segments can be served through electronic home monitoring and work release.

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the 42000 block of 190th Avenue in Holding Township on August 27th, 2020. The caller reported one of the two vehicles involved was on fire, and the other vehicle was nearby with the driver unresponsive and trapped inside.

Deputies determined that Westbrock was northbound on 190th Ave. in a pickup when he tried to pass another northbound vehicle and crashed head-on with a southbound car.

The driver of that car, 33-year-old Russell Heitzman of Avon, died in the crash.

In December 2021, Westbrock was found incompetent to face the charges against him but court records show he was restored to competency in the fall of 2022.

Westbrock waived his right to a jury trial and had the judge decide his fate in a one-day bench trial in September. The judge returned the guilty verdicts on criminal vehicular homicide and careless driving.

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