A witness to a fatal crash west of Annandale last May told police that 22-year-old Joseph D. Hagman jumped in front of the pickup truck that struck and killed him. That information was revealed at a sentencing hearing in Wright County District Court last week for James L. Schmitz of South Haven, the driver of the pickup. Because of it, Schmitz was charged with leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in a fatality and driving while intoxicated, not the more serious offense of criminal vehicular operation, prosecutor Brian Lutes said. But Hagman’s family rejected the prosecution’s version of events and said what happened should be considered murder. Hagman of the Elm Grove Mobile Home Park just west of Annandale died early Sunday, May 27, after being hit by a pickup truck about 2:30 a.m. along Highway 55 not far from his home. Schmitz was arrested shortly after and has been free on $100,000 bail. He pleaded guilty to the charges Nov. 9 in a plea agreement specifying a sentence of up to 90 days in jail. Judge Dale Mossey’s sentence of Schmitz, 43, on Thursday, Dec. 27, amounts to 30 days in the Wright County jail and fines totaling $500 followed by 60 days on electronic home monitoring and three years on probation. It followed the recommendations of a presentence report. Mossey handed down concurrent sentences of three years and $5,000 for leaving the scene and a year and $3,000 for third-degree DWI but granted stays of imposition for the bulk of the penalties. Assistant county attorney Lutes said with good behavior Schmitz will actually spend about 20 days in jail. Lutes told the court that the police report didn’t support a criminal vehicular operation charge, which requires the prosecution to prove the driver caused the crash. A police witness said Hagman jumped in front of Schmitz’s truck, Lutes said, so he couldn’t pursue the more serious charge though Hagman’s family believed Schmitz did cause the crash. According to reports from the Wright County Sheriff’s Office, Shawn Huikko told two deputies at the scene that he saw Hagman jumping into the westbound lane of an oncoming truck and getting hit. Huikko is the brother of Stephanie Stolp, Hagman’s girlfriend, and he lived with them and their young son at Elm Grove. Huikko gave this account to one of the deputies: His sister and Hagman had been arguing and an angry Hagman had gone outside. He followed and found Hagman walking in the middle of the highway. Hagman told him not to come near or he would punch him, but Huikko told him to go ahead because he wasn’t going to let Hagman hurt himself. Hagman swung at him and they wrestled on the south side of the road. Huikko got away and began to run along the north shoulder toward the mobile home park with Hagman chasing him. When they got to the Elm Grove entrance Huikko turned back and saw Hagman jump into the truck’s path and get hit. He gave a similar description to another deputy, while in an interview two days later he told a detective he was running from Hagman and heard a bang, turned around and saw a pickup truck speeding by. According to other police reports, Schmitz drove home and called Annandale Police Chief Jeff Herr, a neighbor, who contacted the sheriff’s office. When deputies went to Schmitz’s home, he told them he had left a bar in Annandale and was driving on Highway 55 when he noticed someone standing in the middle of the road. As he approached, the person stepped in front of his vehicle and he had no time to react and couldn’t avoid the collision. Another friend of Hagman told the detective she received several phone text messages from him between 1:30 and 2:18 that morning, and one of them said, "I just want to die." Kelly Hagman of Buffalo, Hagman’s youngest sister, told the court the law should consider the incident murder as she does. "Now he’s gone and all because of one stupid person who decided to drink and drive." And all the offender is getting is "a slap on the wrist," she said. Lutes said in court that Hagman’s family didn’t agree with the police reports and official version of events. "We don’t agree with it at all," Theresa Hagman of Maple Lake, the victim’s mother, told him outside the courtroom after the sentencing. She hoped things would go better in a civil case, she added. Lutes, who went along with the recommendations of the presentence report, called it a tragic case and a difficult one. Defense attorney Benjamin Colburn said there was "no question about it that this is a tragic situation … for all parties involved," but he reminded the court that Schmitz "pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident that he didn’t cause." According to police, Schmitz had a blood-alcohol reading of .135 in a breath test shortly after the crash. The legal limit is .08. "If I would’ve seen him, I would’ve stopped," Schmitz told the judge at the end of the half-hour hearing. Theresa Hagman told the court her son was the father of a young son and a daughter born Sunday, Dec. 16, who he never saw. Because of a drunk driver "Joe will never be able to play with or watch his children grow up," she said. He wanted to become a heavy equipment operator, loved the outdoors and had "a silly, fun-loving attitude." "He was a good daddy, son and brother and I miss him a lot." Kelly Hagman added: "I didn’t just lose a brother. I lost my best friend. "Joe was one of those people who could change your day around for the better just by saying one word. I guess you could say he was a clown." May 27, she said, "was the worst day of my life."
