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Jayson Lynn Delfs, 21, of Hardwick, has been charged with criminal vehicular homicide – operating a vehicle with negligence under the influence of alcohol, a felony punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment and a $20,000 fine, following a two-vehicle accident in Rock County on March 27 that took the life of Grant Crawford, 47, of rural Jasper.
According to a criminal complaint filed April 1, the Minnesota State Patrol was alerted by a cell phone crash detection call of a vehicle crash on state Highway 23 near milepost three at 10:44 p.m. on March 27. While emergency responders were on their way, a witness reported to dispatch that someone at the scene was unconscious. When emergency responders arrived at the scene, they confirmed that there had been a fatality, according to the complaint.
Rock County deputies reported that they observed Delfs in the driver seat of a Chevrolet Impala and signs that he was impairment by alcohol, and a witness reported seeing Delfs throwing beer cans from the vehicle before law enforcement arrived, according to the complaint. Deputies found a beer can in the vehicle.
Crawford was found in his vehicle, a Ford F150, about 30 to 40 yards off the road. According to the Minnesota State Patrol and the criminal complaint, it appeared both vehicles had been heading north on Hwy. 23 with Crawford’s pickup in front and Delfs’ vehicle behind it, and that Delfs’ vehicle rear ended Crawford’s, causing it to leave the road and roll when it entered the ditch.
Delfs was transported from the scene to Avera in Sioux Falls by Avera Flight with what the State Patrol referred to as non-life threatening injuries. A search warrant was obtained to collect a blood draw, which Delfs provided, and the blood sample was sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for testing, according to the complaint.
Delfs agreed to an interview with law enforcement after the blood draw, but was not able to remember much about the crash, according to the complaint. His driving history shows that he was previously arrested for driving while impaired in South Dakota in 2024, according to the complaint.