Now facing murder charge, woman recalls suicidal thoughts in moments before crash that killed road worker

Updated Feb 8, 2016

A Minnesota woman was reportedly suicidal when she slammed her SUV into a parked public works truck at 80 miles per hour last week.

KARE 11 reported that 24-year-old Marie Jessica Hall is facing murder and vehicular homicide charges after the Jan. 28 crash that killed Bloomington Public Works employee Tyler Lenort. Another city employee was seriously injured in the crash and is still in the hospital for a broken back and severe head trauma.

Lenort was getting back into the city truck with caution lights flashing after clearing snow from a sidewalk on American Boulevard when Hall rear-ended the truck in her Ford Explorer. Hall was driving the SUV so fast, it spun the 8,400-pound truck 180 degrees. The Explorer burst into flames, but rescue crews were able save Hall from the burning wreckage.

Tyler LenortTyler Lenort

Hall told police she was feeling “distraught over events in her life” when she left her home earlier that day. She drove to her former place of employment, grabbed two bottles of vodka and threw money in the air as she left the store. She told police that she drank about four or five shots of vodka before driving upwards of 100 mph.

She said she wanted to “end all,” and read a Bible verse that said “You must die by the flesh to get to heaven.”

Hall could get upwards of 25 years in prison for the murder charge. She is currently being hospitalized on a mental health hold.