March 13--An Albert Lea man has been charged with two felony counts for alleged drunken driving during a three-vehicle crash Saturday in Albert Lea that injured an Emmons man.

Omar Sanchez Jr., 19, faces two counts of felony criminal vehicular operation, one count of gross misdemeanor carrying or possessing a pistol without a permit in a public place, and two misdemeanors, driving while intoxicated and possessing more than 1.4 grams of marijuana in a motor vehicle.

Court documents state Sanchez was charged after Albert Lea officers received a report of a traffic crash at about 6:40 p.m. Saturday at the intersection of Fifth Street and Frank Avenue.

Upon arriving, an officer reportedly noticed a gray Nissan Maxima perpendicular in the roadway in front of 502 and 506 E. Fifth St.

Sanchez was driving a Nissan Maxima east on Fifth Street when he failed to stop at a stop sign, traveling 80 mph and striking the rear-end of a parked 2004 Lincoln LS, according to Albert Lea police. The Lincoln reportedly traveled 30 feet into a trailer that landed on its side in the middle of the road. The Nissan veered right, striking and damaging a light pole. Sanchez reportedly exited the car and was standing on the north side of the street in a neighboring driveway when police arrived.

Court documents state the officer smelled alcohol on Sanchez, and he had watery eyes and slurred his speech.

The passenger of the vehicle, Oscar Leonard Galvin, 24, of Emmons was unconscious after the crash. He reportedly suffered at least a broken collarbone, according to court documents, and was later taken by a critical care team to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester.

No field sobriety tests were conducted on Sanchez because he was reportedly uncooperative and could not communicate with the officer.

Several .45-caliber bullets were reportedly found in Sanchez's pocket, along with a baggie of marijuana weighing 3.2 grams.

An empty Glock 10-round magazine was found on Galvin, and a .45-caliber handgun was located near Galvin's feet. Live rounds and spent casings, four empty beer cans and a partial bottle of vodka were also found, along with baggies of marijuana that weighed 4 grams and 2.1 grams.

The owner of the vehicle, Jose Angel Gutierrez, 23, was cited for having no proof of insurance. He was not in the car at the time of the crash. Gutierrez said he had a Glock 30 gun in the driver's door of the vehicle and had a permit to carry in Iowa.

Judge Steven Schwab set conditional bail at $25,000. Sanchez's next court appearance is scheduled for March 22.

As of Monday afternoon, Sanchez was in custody.

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OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “aa-” (Superior) of Central States Indemnity Co. of Omaha (CSI), and its subsidiary, CSI Life Insurance Company (CSI Life), collectively referred to as CSI. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. Both companies are domiciled in Omaha, NE.

The ratings reflect CSI’s and CSI Life’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strongest, as well as their adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).

CSI maintains risk-adjusted capitalization at the strongest level, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). Additionally, CSI benefits from its very conservative underwriting leverage, above average liquidity position and the implicit support from its ultimate parent, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Berkshire) [NYSE: BRK A and BRK B] via investment management services, capital and risk management.

CSI’s investment portfolio includes a relatively elevated level of common stock leverage, which may bring volatility to the company’s surplus. However, a mitigating factor is CSI’s reserves, which have more than enough backing from cash and short-term investments. Investment income has accounted for the bulk of total earnings in the last 10 years. CSI currently writes more non-credit insurance premiums on a gross basis compared with its long-standing credit insurance business. Most of CSI’s gross premiums written are related to long-term fronting agreements.

CSI is a specialty insurance company, which provides credit card credit insurance and has fronting agreements with multiple insurers. While CSI’s business is somewhat concentrated by lines of business, CSI carries the Berkshire brand name and benefits from its implicit support, which helps mitigate these risks. CSI benefits from the formal structure of Berkshire’s ERM. This provides it with resources to monitor and manage risks. CSI has developed its own management program to control company-specific risks.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings, Best’s Performance Assessments, Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.

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Source: AM Best