Former DFL Official Pleads Guilty to Fatal Hit-and-Run
Martin will avoid prison under a plea deal that includes 364 days in jail, five years of probation and 100 hours of community service.
- Cynthia Arlene Martin, a former Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party official, pleaded guilty Thursday to criminal vehicular homicide in the July 3, 2024, death of Carter John Haithcock along Highway 169, admitting she never exited her vehicle to investigate.
- Authorities charged Martin because she left the scene and failed to "reasonably investigate" what she struck. Investigators learned she was on the phone at the time, telling another person "nothing was wrong" after the collision.
- Crash data shows Martin applied brakes one second before impact, throwing Haithcock 138 feet. Surveillance footage from a Nashwauk gas station captured her vehicle stopping for roughly 25 seconds before continuing near the collision time.
- Under the plea agreement, Martin faces 364 days in the Itasca County Jail and five years of supervised probation, avoiding prison if she completes the probation term successfully.
- Judge Heidi Chandler deferred accepting the plea until sentencing on Aug. 3. Prosecutor Courtney Beck said Haithcock's family was initially "apprehensive" about the plea offer but ultimately did not object.
19 Articles
19 Articles
Former DFL leader Cynthia Martin enters guilty plea in fatal 2024 hit-and-run of teen
Share This StoryA former northern Minnesota DFL Party leader entered a guilty plea in connection to a fatal 2024 hit-and-run crash that killed 19-year-old Carter Haithcock. Cynthia “Cyndy” Martin, 66, submitted a guilty petition in Itasca County District Court. Martin is currently facing one count of criminal vehicular homicide involving a driver who leaves the scene of a collision. Martin, the former chair of the 8th Congressional District DFL,…
Duluth News Tribune
Former DFL official pleads guilty to fatal Iron Range crash
Cynthia Martin is expected to spend a year in jail, among other conditions of probation, for the death of 19-year-old Carter Haithcock.
Grand Rapids Herald-Review
Southernminn.comFormer northern Minnesota DFL party official pleads guilty to vehicular homicide
This story is republished with permission from KAXE/KBXE. GRAND RAPIDS — Cynthia “Cyndy” Martin pleaded guilty to criminal vehicular homicide and leaving the scene Thursday, May 21, in the 2024 death of 19-year-old Carter Haithcock on Highway 169 near Nashwauk.…
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