‘Mind-blowing’: Dad stunned by charges in tragic ATV asphyxiation deaths of daughter and her ‘BFF’ as prosecutors reveal theory of the case

Savanna Koeckeritz, Lance Koeckeritz, Lexi Gibson

Savanna Koeckeritz (obituary), Lance Koeckeritz (Facebook), Lexi Gibson (obituary)

A Minnesota father called it “mind-blowing” and “devastating” this week that the top prosecutor in Washington County is pursuing manslaughter and child endangerment charges against him for the 800cc engine ATV rollover crash deaths more than a year ago of his 10-year-old daughter and her 10-year-old best friend on the family’s Afton-area property.

Lance Koeckeritz, a 54-year-old husband and father of six surviving children, expressed his astonishment about the charges brought by County Attorney Kevin Magnuson in an interview with the Star Tribune, saying that the April 22, 2023, deaths of his daughter Savanna and her friend from school Lexi Gibson were the result of a “freak accident.”

“Us and the kids have hundreds of hours on four-wheelers. It’s the way we all grew up,” he said. “There wasn’t a lack of confidence in [Savanna’s] abilities. She was making a left-hand turn, and a wheel got caught in a divot. It was just unforeseen.”

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