Oakdale Car vs. House Case: Minneapolis Man Sentenced

A Minneapolis man who crashed his SUV into an Oakdale home was sentenced to five years of probation and must pay more than $3,600 in restitution stemming from the in February 2012 incident.

James Mathew Wirtz, 27, became obnoxious, started wrestling people and was kicked out of a party at the 900 block of Gershwin Avenue, according to the criminal complaint.

He then rammed the Suburban into the home, causing a wall to buckle, breaking sheetrock and pushing in the frame of the wall.

According to the complaint:

One of the responding officers remembered seeing the suspect vehicle, a blue Suburban, at the SuperAmerica on 10th Street and Geneva Avenue.

The SUV was still there when police arrived, and Wirtz walked up to the squad car shortly thereafter. He had a cut on his forehead and blood in his left ear, and told police had just been assaulted by multiple people at his cousin’s house.

Witnesses at the home told a different story.

The officer at the home found that there were about seven people there who had all been drinking. Witnesses said they had been at a bar earlier with Wirtz, and when they returned home he became obnoxious and started wrestling with people.

Another witness said after she heard the crash, she looked out the window, saw Wirtz back into a parked car, hit some trees and flee the scene.

The officer on the scene found a piece of a headlight, which appeared to come from the SUV Wirtz was driving. The vehicle had a large dent on the passenger side, the entire bumper was dented down, the passenger side headlight was dangling and the rear bumper was dented down.

The officer at the gas station had Wirtz take a preliminary breath test, which showed his blood alcohol content was .17.