David Kinner is charged with Driving Under the Influence and Vehicular Battery for Sunday night's crash that landed bicyclist James McInnes in a hospital with life-threatening injuries. Kinner has been convicted of nearly 30 traffic violations dating back to 1989. That includes 14 speeding violations, along with failure to stop, failure to obey a traffic control and failure to yield while making a left turn at an intersection. Investigators believe a similar violation led to this latest crash.
McInnes, 23, was riding his bicycle along 10th Street when he was struck. Police believe Kinner had taken too much of a prescription medication to be behind the wheel.
"There's a lot of people who are abusing prescription drugs and medicine. Some of it is theirs; some of it belongs to other people that they're either bought or stolen," Sioux Falls Police Public Information Officer Sam Clemens said.
Investigators don't know if Kinner ran a red light while making the left turn or was rushing to beat traffic when the light turned green. They do know that McInnes was not wearing a helmet while riding his bike.
"We encourage people on motorcycles to wear helmets to protect themselves; same thing goes with bicycles. They make inexpensive helmets and they save damage to your brain," Clemens said. Clemens says this incident is an unfortunate reminder for all bike riders to always be cautious, even when doing everything properly. It's also an eye opener for all drivers to watch for bikers.
"The message of defensive driving has been out there for years. But in the springtime, we're starting to see more bicycles and motorcycles on the road so people need to be aware that they're out there and paying attention and looking for them," Clemens said.
Kinner was out of jail on bond as he is awaiting a June trial on a grand theft charge. Vehicular battery carries a maximum sentence of ten years in the state penitentiary.
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