On September 1st, tragedy struck Park Tavern, a popular bowling alley and restaurant of St. Louis Park, when an SUV crashed into the establishment’s patio at high speed. According to the criminal complaint, 56 year-old Steven Bailey had a blood alcohol level of 0.325 (four times the legal limit), when he accelerated quickly through the parking lot and into Park Tavern’s outdoor seating area. By choosing to get behind the wheel, Bailey severely injured 9 individuals and took the lives of Kristina Folkerts, a Park Tavern employee, and Gabe Harvey, a Methodist Hospital employee.
Two days after the crash, a press conference was held by Hennepin County Attorney, Mary Moriarty. She announced that Steven Bailey would be charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and nine counts of criminal vehicular operation. However, after reviewing video footage of the crash, it was announced on September 8th that Bailey would also be charged with two counts of third-degree murder. According to the description of the video given by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, Bailey’s SUV can be seen hitting another car while he attempts to back into a parking space. In what is believed to be an attempt to flee, Bailey accelerates forward through the parking lot and crashes head on with the patio. The prosecutors said that the footage demonstrates that Bailey made no attempt to hit the brake. He continued to accelerate until his vehicle came to an abrupt halt after hitting several boulders on the other side of the patio. This evidence allowed the prosecutors to conclude that his actions warranted the third degree murder chargers, Moriarty detailed, “[Bailey] had a clear view of the patio, tables, umbrellas, and the numerous individuals seated outside from the time he pulled into the lot and throughout his course of travel.”
Many people have highlighted that, despite his five previous DWI arrests, Steven Bailey had a valid driver’s license with no restrictions at the time of the crash. His first three convictions occurred between 1983 and 1998 and each time was only met with a suspension on his license for a handful of months. Bailey pleaded guilty to his fourth DWI conviction in 2013, causing his license to be taken away, and he was then arrested the following year for driving drunk and driving without a license. Since his 2014 DWI arrest up until 2020, Bailey’s vehicle was equipped with an ignition interlock device, requiring the driver to blow through a mechanism that only allows the car to start if the sample is alcohol-free. According to sworn testimony, Bailey was sober from 2014 to 2020 and hadn’t had any run-ins with the law until this fall. He is currently being held in jail on $1 million bail with a court hearing scheduled for October 1st.
