A Minot man has been sentenced after pleading guilty to a count of criminal vehicular injury, a Class C felony, stemming from a hit and run incident on Jan. 3.

Kenneth Lee Weippert, 57, Minot, entered his change of plea to guilty in North Central District Court on June 26 as a part of a plea agreement that resulted in the dismissal of a count of Class A misdemeanor aggravated reckless driving.

According to court documents, Minot Police officers arrived on the scene of the multi-vehicle accident on Central Avenue late in the evening of Jan. 3 to find the suspect vehicle unoccupied. One of the victims told investigators that two individuals fled the vehicle down an alley behind a building. Two individuals were soon located walking around downtown who initially denied involvement in the accident, but eventually admitted they were and identified themselves as Weippert and Lee Norman Weippert, 20, Minot.

Kenneth Weippert told police he was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident, and had three beers at a bar in northeast Minot. Officers had Weippert perform a battery of field sobriety tests and recorded a preliminary breath test of .144 blood alcohol content.

One of the victims involved in the accident was interviewed after receiving treatment at a local hospital and told investigators Weippert was driving at a high rate of speed as he was turning east on Central Avenue, striking two vehicles and two buildings during the turn. According to the affidavit one of the victims had to be extracted from the vehicle due to extensive damage.

Judge Gary Lee sentenced Weippert to first serve one year and one day of a five-year sentence with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, with credit for three days already served. Weippert was ordered to complete two years of supervised probation, a chemical dependency evaluation, and enroll in a 24/7 sobriety program upon release. He was also assessed $125 in court fines and fees.