Woman Charged in Fatal Eagan Crash

A West St. Paul woman has been charged with criminal vehicular homicide in connection with a 2010 accident in Eagan that killed her 3-month-old daughter.

Jillian Elizabeth Fender, 30, also faces one count of criminal vehicular injury causing substantial bodily harm and three counts of criminal vehicular injury causing bodily harm. Authorities say she was under the influence of oxycodone  and Dilaudid at the time of the accident.

According to the complaint, filed Tuesday in Dakota County District Court, Fender ran a red light in an Eagan intersection on Feb. 11, 2010, and hit another vehicle. The driver of the second vehicle was turning left on a green arrow and had the right of way, authorities said.

Two adults and Fender’s infant daughter were in her van at the time of the accident. One of the adults was treated for cracked ribs and a cut on his spleen; the other appeared to have a broken leg. The complaint says Fender’s daughter was unresponsive when authorities arrived and was given immediate medical attention, but she didn’t survive.

The driver of the other vehicle and her son suffered minor injuries in the crash.

Officers also spoke with a witness, who said she saw a male passenger holding a baby emerge from Fender’s van immediately after the accident. The witness said the speed with which the man got out of the van seemed to indicate that he hadn’t had to remove the baby from a child seat.

Officers searched Fender’s van and discovered that the car seat was not properly installed in the vehicle. “The plastic holder that holds the car seat strapped in the proper position was broken,” the complaint says. “The harness straps on the car seat were fully extended, which would not have restrained a 12-pound infant.”

In addition to the narcotics in Fender’s bloodstream, tests indicated the presence of Xanax  Versed and Fulsed.

If convicted of criminal vehicular homicide, Fender faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. The maximum penalty for criminal vehicular injury causing substantial bodily harm is three years in prison and a $10,000 fine, and the maximum penalty for criminal vehicular injury causing bodily harm is one year in prison and a $3,000 fine.