Wright Co. driver involved in fatal crash has drunk driving record

WRIGHT COUNTY, MN – A driver involved in a head-on collision that killed a Buffalo High School student on Saturday had faced drunken driving charges twice before, the Star Tribune reported.

Todd Albert Lifto, 44, of St. Michael, was taken to Mercy Hospital, but he is expected to recover, the Star Tribune reported.

Jonathon Kramnic, 17, of Brooklyn Center, was killed when his westbound 1998 Toyota Camry collided with Lifto’s eastbound 2001 Chevrolet Silverado on County Road 35 near Jamison Avenue in St. Michael. There were no passengers in either vehicle. Kramnic, soccer standout at Buffalo High, was on his way to visit friends.

In 2005, Lifto was charged in Wright County with multiple counts of gross misdemeanor criminal vehicular operation and third-degree driving while impaired following a hit-and-run crash that left another man with a minor head cut. Lifto’s blood-alcohol level after that crash was 0.24 percent, three times the legal limit, according to the Star Tribune.

He was convicted of criminal vehicular operation causing bodily harm with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or more. He was sentenced to 30 days in the Wright County jail, plus probation.

On Sept. 28, Lifto was again arrested and charged with third-degree driving while impaired while in St. Michael.

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