• News tips, submissions
• Questions, comments
• Contact webmaster

• Bear sentenced to year in jail in Hudson
• Cyclist crashes into window of Hudson Middle School

Victoria Bear, 57, will serve a year in St. Croix County Jail for causing the accident that killed Michael Strauch of Hudson on Coulee Road last September.

The sentence was handed down by Judge Eric Lundell on Friday. Bear will be placed on probation for five years during which time she must maintain absolute sobriety. The sentence also included: --restitution of $16, 730 to the Strauch family for funeral and other expenses. --200 hours of community service. --revocation of her driver's license for a year and her passport. --participation with the Strauch family in the St. Croix Valley Restorative Justice Program. --providing a DNA sample --undergoing an alcohol and other drug assessment and treatment as warranted.

Bear, who lived in Hudson at the time of the accident, made a tearful statement to the court, saying she did not see Strauch's motorcycle on the road before pulling out in front of him. She said she had wanted to express her remorse to the family for a long time but had been advised by her attorney not to contact them while the charges against her were pending.

Turning to face them in the courtroom, Bear said "I am deeply sorry for the accident that took Mike's life .I am full of shame, sadness and remorse for the pain I have caused his children and his wife. It is horrible to be responsible for the death of someone else and I pray every day for him and your family."

Mike Strauch's cousin made a statement to the court on behalf of his widow Barbara and his children, Janna Niedermyer and Tim Strauch. He described Strauch as a hardworking, responsible man who was deeply loved by his family and friends. He said the accident that killed Mike was caused "by a woman who disregarded the consequences of her actions She decided to drive under the influence of alcohol and killed Michael."

Lundell said that although Bear was not charged with driving under the influence, he believed it did have an affect on her ability to drive that day. "It dulls your perceptions and your senses and enables negligence to occur."

The investigation into the case indicated that Bear did have two glasses of wine at a meal prior to the accident. She had also been previously cited for driving under the influence by Hudson police. The Strauch family believes she was intoxicated at the time of the accident. Hudson police drove Bear from the scene of the accident without administering a field sobriety test.

Since the accident Bear has reconciled with her ex-husband, Peter, a former member of the Hudson School Board and they live in St. Paul. More details of the statements made at the sentencing will appear in the July 10 issue of the Star-Observer.

A woman who reportedly was practicing her motorcycle skills crashed into a window of the Hudson Middle School, fracturing it substantially, then flopped on the ground next to the building.

The woman, who is not yet being identified, received facial cuts and other injuries and was in stable condition at the site, according to Hudson police officers. She was fitted with items to stabilize her head and neck and was transported to Regions Hospital in St. Paul as a precaution.

While being lifted into the ambulance, the woman used her hand to brush her brow and was able to speak. She had been driving in the parking lot, then accidentally accelerated and crossed a sidewalk and about 25 feet of grass to hit the window.

The accident occurred about 6:45 p.m. Wednesday.