GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. — The vice chair of Itasca County Democrats, Cynthia Arlene Martin, pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in the 2024 hit-and-run death of a 19-year-old pedestrian. The guilty plea was part of a deal in which Martin, age 66, agreed to one year in jail. The deal remains subject to acceptance by Judge Heidi Chandler. Sentencing guidelines allow as much 10 years and a $20,000 fine. The July 2024 accident was 18 miles northeast of Grand Rapids near Nashwauk. It was dark. Martin was returning to Grand Rapids from an event. It took investigators four months to link Martin to the accident. Her account was that she was aware of the impact, stopped, checked her gauges, and drove on. The next day, she said, she learned ghat Carter Haithcock had been struck on Highway 169 near Nashwauk, but she didn’t come forward about the possibility she had been the driver. The plea agreement includes a provision barring alcohol and non-prescription drugs. The agreement followed 1-1/2k years of legal maneuvering in which Martin’s attorney sought variously to dismiss the case, to suppress evidence, and to move case to a venue where Martin wasn’t as prominent. Meanwhile, this December, Martin resigned her Democratic Party duties under pressure.
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Martin, tearfully at plea hearing: “Because of the collision, he passed away. It was my responsibility to investigate, and I did not.”
Martin. Her Democratic duties included chairing the Mn-8 Congressional District. The district in tan, spans 21 northeast Minnesota counties, including the Arrowhead. Geographically the largest Congressional district in the state. Cities include Brainerd, Duluth and Hibbing.
