Amy Senser Charged With Vehicular Homicide in Death of Roseville Man

Update: Amy Senser has been charged with one count of first-degree criminal vehicular homicide in the hit-and-run death of a Roseville man, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Thursday.

 “This case has been extensively investigated by the State Patrol and presented to our office yesterday. We are filing charges today,” Freeman told a press conference in Minneapolis. “[Amy Senser] has turned herself in and bail has been set.  She may have met that bail.”

Senser, wife of former Vikings player Joe Senser, Edina, is charged in the death of Anousone Phanthavong on Aug. 23. Phanthavong had run out of gas on the Riverside Avenue exit from Interstate 94.  He was hit and killed while refilling his gas tank.

"We have established probable cause that Amy Senser was driving the car that struck Mr. Phanthavong, that the collision caused his death, and that she [Amy Senser] left the scene, Freeman said. "Those are the elements we need to receive a criminal conviction. There is more than adequate evidence in the file to do that."

The family of Phanthavong attended the press conference but offered no comment.

Meanwhile, Amy Senser's attorney Eric Nelson said Senser will appear in court Thursday. "The family is devastated," he said.

Jim  Schwebel, attorney for the Phanthavong family, said he will continue his investigation in the civil case. The wrongful death action is seeking damages of more than $50,000.

“We remain committed to seeing the truth about what happened that night,” Schwebel said.  “As you know, the Sensers have failed to cooperate with this investigation.  We have no information as to whether this crime involved drugs or alcohol.  We have no information as to why Amy Senser chose to leave the scene, whether she was alone or with someone else.”

In the criminal case, the county attorney must prove that there was a crash involving a death, and that Senser left the scene of the accident, Schwebel continued. 

“We need to determine (in the civil case) whether her conduct was ordinary negligence, or recklessness, or whether it involved alcohol.  The compensation that a family is entitled to receive will vary according to culpability,” he said. 

“Ordinary negligence, where someone runs a red light, is a far different scenario from someone being drunk or impaired, killing someone, leaving the scene of an accident, and hiding the car.  We want a jury to feel the full impact of what happened.”

In the criminal case, Nelson said the state has to prove “a lot more than that there was an accident and that she left the scene.  She has to know she hit a person. We’ve made no secret that will part of our defense.”

Nelson said he is surprised the state has filed charges so soon.  “Reconstruction of the accident] hasn’t even been done,” he said. “That usually takes six months.”

Nelson added that Amy Senser is devastated. 

“She grieves for this family," he said. "It may not seem so, because she is exercising her constitutional rights.  But that should be a lesson for everyone. She has constitutional rights. But she is lamenting the loss of this man.”