Charges: LaSalle Man Saw Sign, But Wasn’t Planning On Stopping Before Fatal Watonwan County Crash

A driver without a license admitted he saw the stop sign at a rural Watonwan County intersection before a fatal crash, but didn’t plan on stopping until it was too late, according to court documents. Dustin Alan Hagen, 21, of LaSalle, was charged with felony criminal vehicular homicide in the crash that killed 53-year-old Keith Moldan, of rural St. James, on March 1.

Hagen told police he’d been in a hurry to get home as he traveled west on 300th St. Court documents say Hagen admitted to police he saw the stop sign at the intersection, but was not planning on stopping because he drove the road every day and never saw any traffic on it.  It was too late to stop when he saw Moldan’s Bonneville approaching the intersection with 760th Ave, he told investigators.

Hagen told police he was going about 55 to 60 miles per hour when his vehicle collided with Moldan’s car, but crash investigators determined he was driving 81 to 83 miles per hour at the time.

Police say Hagen is also a registered predatory offender who failed to update his registry or his plate numbers.  His driving privileges were also revoked, and he’s had multiple speeding and driving after revocation citations since 2019.