The Minnesota state trooper charged on July 10 in connection to a high-speed crash that killed a high school cheerleader earlier this year has a history of reckless driving and was suspended on two occasions.
State Patrol trooper Shane Roper, 32, was charged with manslaughter last Tuesday in connection to the May 18 crash in Rochester, Minnesota, that killed Owatonna High School student Olivia Flores and injured another five.
According to the charging document, Roper was traveling at an “excessive speed” without his flashing lights at the time he slammed into the vehicle in which Flores was riding when it was traveling through an intersection near a Rochester mall.
Roper’s speed just seconds before the crash was 83 miles per hour. The impact of the collision sent the two cars into a third vehicle.
Roper said several weeks after the incident that he was attempting to “close the gap” between his State Patrol car and a vehicle suspected of a traffic violation. He claimed that he was not actively pursuing the vehicle at the time but thought his lights were still activated. Roper admitted that he had not been paying attention to his rate of speed.
According to the charging document, in the hours leading up to the collision, Roper drove over 99 mph on several occasions while attempting traffic stops. At one point, he was driving 135 mph in a 55 mph zone.
The trooper faces multiple charges, including second-degree manslaughter, criminal vehicular homicide, criminal vehicular operation, and reckless driving.
Roper’s personnel file, which was released by the Minnesota State Patrol on July 12, shows that he had been reprimanded four times for reckless driving and speeding, including hitting another patrol car, hitting a civilian vehicle, hitting a median, and striking a deer. He received suspensions for two of the four reprimands.
According to the State Patrol, Roper also has an open complaint with internal affairs.