Jury picked in Twin Ponds crash trial

A jury was seated Monday in the trial of a Superior man accused of fatally striking a pedestrian at Duluth's Twin Ponds last fall.

Nine women and five men will hear the case of 31-year-old Justen Paul Linskie, who is charged with criminal vehicular homicide in the death of 60-year-old Susan LeGarde Menz.

The panel, including two alternates, was chosen from a pool of 30 potential jurors brought to the St. Louis County Courthouse in Duluth

Authorities said Menz was photographing fall colors at the popular swimming hole when she was killed on Oct. 13, 2015.

Linskie's vehicle left Skyline Parkway about 6 p.m. that evening, toppling a large boulder along the road and plunging into the water below. Menz was found in the water by several bystanders who came to her aid and called 911. She was rushed to a hospital and pronounced dead a short time later.

Defense attorneys have argued that Menz was not necessarily struck by Linskie's vehicle. Public defender Sonia Sturdevant said in an earlier motion that Linskie only saw the boulder and not Menz.

She said Linskie fled the scene not because he had struck a pedestrian but because of the significant damage he had caused to his future mother-in-law's car and the fact that he was missing a drug treatment session.

Attorneys posed numerous questions to potential jurors during the all-day selection process - spending a significant amount of time discussing policing and car crashes.

Sturdevant asked each potential juror to describe any car crashes they had been involved in. One 63-year-old man, who was ultimately selected for the jury, said he fatally struck a 64-year-old woman during a snowstorm more than 40 years ago. Several others said they had caused or been the victims of crashes.

Assistant St. Louis County Attorney Vicky Wanta posed a number of questions about portrayals of the justice system in recent popular culture - ranging from the Netflix documentary "Making a Murderer" to U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte's false robbery report at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Earlier Monday, a dozen potential jurors were individually brought into the courtroom and questioned by attorneys based on answers they had provided to questionnaires filled out last week.

Two potential jurors said they had already formed an opinion about the case, believing Linskie to be guilty, and were dismissed. Several others said they had seen some news coverage of the case but believed they could be fair and impartial.

Linskie is charged with criminal vehicular homicide by leaving the scene of an accident. Under the statute, the state must prove that it was Linskie's vehicle that struck Menz and that he failed to immediately stop and "reasonably investigate what was struck."

Several jurors said they believed it was Linskie's vehicle that struck Menz, but said they were willing to hear the facts and consider other possibilities.

A number of family members of both Linksie and Menz were in attendance Monday, sitting on opposite sides of the courtroom.

The case is expected to resume with opening statements and testimony Tuesday. A verdict is expected by the end of the week.