| Graduation Year | Class of 1988 |
| Date of Passing | Dec 20, 2005 |
| About | Posted on Thu, Dec. 22, 2005 Waite Park City Council member dies in vehicle crash Associated Press ONAMIA, Minn. - A Waite Park City Council member who once served a jail sentence for a fatal drunk driving accident was killed in a two-vehicle crash, and authorities said Wednesday they believe this time the other driver had been drinking. Councilman Dan Butkowski, 35, died Tuesday after a car driven by Peter Sam, 29, of Onamia, lost control and slid sideways into Butkowski's sport utility vehicle, the State Patrol said. Authorities said they suspect Sam was drinking before the crash. He had lost his driver's license after being arrested for drunken driving four months ago. Butkowski was being mourned Wednesday as a man who had turned his life around. "Unbelievable irony," Waite Park Mayor Carla Schaefer said. The crash happened shortly before 11 p.m. Tuesday on U.S. Highway 169 in Mille Lacs County. Butkowski was the manager at a Hirshfield's paint store in St. Cloud and had taken two of his employees to Grand Casino as a treat. They suffered minor injuries. Butkowski died at Mille Lacs Health System in Onamia. Sam died at the scene, officials said. Officials said they won't know for sure whether alcohol played a role in Sam's loss of control until toxicology test results come back. "Based on what the troopers smelled and observed, we suspect alcohol was a factor," State Patrol Capt. Mark Jonassen said. In 1997, Butkowski pleaded guilty to criminal vehicular homicide for a crash near Foley that left a St. Joseph woman dead. His blood alcohol level was 0.17 percent two hours after the accident. At the time, 0.10 was the state's legal limit. He served eight months in jail. His parents said he never touched alcohol again and turned his life around. He became active in civic and church projects. He often spoke to high school students and others about the dangers of drinking and driving. "The outcome has made me a better person," he wrote in a 2003 election questionnaire for the St. Cloud Times. "There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of the families involved." Butkowski was elected to the Waite Park City Council in November 2003 and was midway through his first term. "I've never had anyone in my life I've known for such a short period of time effect me so," Schaefer said. "He is one of the kindest, gentlest people I've met. He radiated. As a council member, he was incredibly responsible and cognizant of the fact he was representing the citizens of Waite Park." Butkowski lived with his parents, Clarence and MaryEllen Butkowski, in Waite Park, a community just west of St. Cloud. "I don't think Danny would have held a grudge, because of his own situation, what happened," his mother said. "And I'm sure that he is saying to us, 'Mom don't hold a grudge against this man either.'" His funeral will be Saturday. "It's difficult to imagine a church that will actually be able to house the number of people who are shedding tears for him today," Schaefer said. |
