An Avon man is being charged for murder in the third degree following a fatal car crash that occurred near Clear Lake Twp. last Saturday.

According to Sherburne County and the State of Minnesota, Hunter Michael Buckentine of Avon (Becker HS Graduate) is being prosecuted for five counts of charges that include murder in the third degree, two charges of criminal vehicular homicide and two charges of criminal vehicle operation.

According to authorities, Minnesota State Patrol  Trooper Tokar was traveling eastbound on Hwy.10 near Co. Rd. 8 in Becker at approximately 1:11 a.m. At that time, Tokar observed a vehicle traveling westbound by itself in the left lane at a high rate of speed. The speed limit in this area is 60 MPH. Trooper Tokar activated his front radar antenna and it showed the vehicle’s speed to be 132 MPH with a clear high doppler audio. The audio fell off as the vehicle passed him. 

The vehicle appeared to be a dark sedan with newer style headlights. There were no other vehicles in front of the speeding sedan and no other vehicles behind it. Trooper Tokar activated his rear radar antenna and it showed the vehicle to be at a speed of 130 miles per hour.

Trooper Tokar turned around and attempted to catch up to the vehicle, but it kept pulling away until he was barely able to see it. The last speed Trooper Tokar was able to obtain was 116 miles per hour before losing sight of the vehicle. From the time he observed the sedan to the time he turned around, there were no other vehicles on the roadway or that turned onto the roadway.

Shortly after, Trooper Tokar came across a debris field of glass and vehicle parts on the roadway just East of 97th St. SE. He slowed and turned back around to stop at the beginning of the crash site on Hwy. 10.

As he approached the debris field on the roadway, Trooper Tokar observed a female, later identified as LS, on the shoulder of the roadway waving her arms frantically over her head. LS stated her passengers were thrown from the vehicle. Trooper Tokar observed a blue Chevrolet Cobalt bearing Minnesota license EXR009 in the north ditch. The Cobalt was severely damaged in all places. 

Trooper Tokar observed a male, later identified as JK, laying in the ditch on the driver’s side of the Cobalt. He was face down on the ground and not moving. Trooper Tokar could not find a pulse. The trooper observed another vehicle approximately 200 yards west of him in the north ditch. Flames were beginning to come out of that vehicle.

The second vehicle was later identified as a black Infiniti Q50 bearing Minnesota license JDR710.

Trooper Tokar observed another female, later identified as CP, laying in the ditch in front of the Cobalt on her back. She was breathing and stated she was ok.

Trooper Tokar spoke with LS. She stated that she, JK, and CP were in the Chevy Cobalt. She was driving and going the speed limit. JK was in the front passenger seat and CP was sitting behind JK. LS stated the other vehicle came up on her so fast, she saw the lights flash behind her and she did not have any time to react. All she saw was the headlights behind her and the next thing that happened was impact. She stated the Infiniti hit the back end of her vehicle, which spun it around and she thought they rolled in the ditch, but did not know how many times. 

LS estimated the other vehicle’s speed to be at 150 miles per hour. She was wearing her seatbelt and observed that she was the only person left in the vehicle after it rolled. She told the trooper she found a small flashlight inside the car and climbed out the window.

Life-saving efforts were performed on JK. Trooper Tokar was notified at approximately 1:53 a.m. that JK was deceased. CP was flown to St. Cloud hospital for treatment of serious injuries. Lt. Maher and Sgt. Beasley later learned CP required surgeries and had injuries to include a broken arm and a broken shoulder blade.

No one was located in or around the Infiniti. Law enforcement from several agencies were dispatched to locate the occupant or occupants of the vehicle. The Infiniti was registered to DB and Hunter Michael Buckentine, DOB 08/16/2000, defendant herein.

At approximately 6 a.m., while law enforcement was still at the crash scene, a pickup pulled up. The individuals were looking for their son, TM. His father stated TM’s Life360 app was showing in the field northwest of the location. He stated they had checked the area and were unsuccessful in locating TM.

Trooper McClure learned TM had been with the defendant the prior night, and the defendant was supposed to be the sober driver for TM. Lt. Maher requested an emergency ping on TM’s phone in an effort to locate it. Law enforcement continued to search for the occupants of the Infiniti. In the area of the phone ping, law enforcement located a pair of jeans with an Infiniti key fob in the bare field. 

With the assistance of a K9, law enforcement located a black Aerosmith t-shirt on the edge of a corn field.

Lt. Maher learned TM had been located and wished to speak with law enforcement. TM stated that he had got to Beck’s Pub in Becker around 9:15 p.m. on August 18, 2023. The defendant was present and wearing jeans and a t-shirt. During his time at the bar, TM stated he had one shot of Crown Apple, 2-3 shots of Washington Apple and one Jameson Sprite mixed drink. He remembered the defendant drinking one shot of Apple Crown about 9:45 p.m. and one shot of Washington Apple around 11 p.m. TM stated he was drunk but he thought the defendant seemed OK. TM stated he and the defendant left the bar around 1 a.m. and were going to go to another individual’s residence in Clear Lake. He stated the defendant was driving his Infiniti and both of them were wearing their seatbelts. 

TM stated that as they were leaving town near Becker Furniture World, they were going around 75-80 mph and the defendant made a comment about seeing a cop pass by. The defendant sped up to 150 mph, took his phone out and took a SnapChat picture of his speed. TM stated they started out in the left lane and when he looked up again, he saw taillights approximately a foot in front of them from a car in the right lane right before crashing. The airbags deployed and when they finally stopped, he saw flames coming from the engine compartment. He stated he couldn’t get his door open, so he had to break and crawl out of the passenger side window. 

The defendant crawled out the driver’s side window and began running away and making suicidal comments. TM ran after the defendant and at some point, was with him and gave him his cell phone. The defendant made a call, kept the phone and again began running making comments about the crash and that he was going to kill himself because of what he had done. TM stated he continued running after the defendant. While running, TM stated the defendant began taking off his clothes - pants and then his shirt. 

After entering another corn field, TM was unable to keep up with the defendant and he lost him. Later that morning, TM found a road and a passerby willing to give him a ride back home.

Trooper McClure asked to obtain pictures of TM’s injuries. He observed a seatbelt mark over TM’s right shoulder, consistent with him being on the passenger side of the vehicle.

That afternoon, the defendant phoned Sherburne County dispatch from a location in Palmer, stating he had awakened wearing someone else’s clothes without his belongings and asked to have an officer sent. Law enforcement arrived and brought the defendant to the sheriff substation where he spoke with members of the state patrol. The defendant admitted owning the Infiniti and the car has a push button start. He stated he usually keeps the key fob in his front jeans pocket. He stated he had been wearing jeans and a black Aerosmith shirt the prior evening. 

He admitted driving the Infiniti to Beck’s Pub to meet others including TM. He remembered drinking one shot of Apple Crown and having one whiskey/lemonade. The defendant stated he didn’t remember being drunk, leaving the bar, nor when he left or who he left with. He stated the next thing he remembered was waking up at the Palmer baseball field wearing unfamiliar clothes. After waking up, the defendant stated he went to the Briggs Lake Store to contact the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office since all his things (car keys, phone and wallet) were gone.

The defendant had numerous scratches on his arms. He stated he was unsure how he got them. Trooper McClure observed what appeared to be the inside of a faint seatbelt mark on the defendant’s left shoulder, which he documented with photographs. The defendant stated the fastest speed he has driven the Infiniti was 145 mph at the Brainerd International Raceway. When Trooper McClure asked the defendant if he would ever run from a crash, the defendant stated he didn’t think so and he doesn’t know why he would.

When Trooper McClure asked the defendant if TM stated the defendant had been driving when they left the bar would he believe that, the defendant stated he would not have any reason to think otherwise.

Initial observations relevant to crash reconstruction showed a lack of any pre-crash/pre-impact vehicle braking, which indicated the Infiniti did not slow down prior to striking the Cobalt.

The defendant identified his SnapChat name for law enforcement. TM provided law enforcement a copy of the Snap Chat sent by the defendant just prior to the crash. The SnapChat shows a speedometer with a reading of 150 miles per hour with a text stating “new record.”

The defendant was placed under arrest.