Two Charged with Third-Degree Murder, Criminal Vehicular Homicide After Fatal Street Racing Crash in Eagan
Updated: July 25, 2025, at 9:10 am.
EAGAN, MINNESOTA— Two individuals are facing multiple felony charges, including third-degree murder and criminal vehicular homicide, for their roles in a high-speed street racing crash that killed two young adults last month in Eagan.
Melody Lynn Little, 24, of West St. Paul, and Jordan John Weiland, 20, of White Bear Lake, were each charged by warrant complaint with two counts of third-degree murder and two counts of criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the June 14, 2025 crash that claimed the lives of 19-year-old Reed Robert Schultz and 18-year-old Finnian Thomas Cronin.
The charges were filed in Dakota County District Court and announced Wednesday, July 24, 2025, by County Attorney Kathy Keena. Both defendants are accused of engaging in a high-speed street race that led directly to the fatal collision.
Deadly Crash at Highway 149 and 55
According to court documents, the crash occurred around 11:20 p.m. on June 14th near the intersection of Highway 149 and Highway 55 in Eagan, Minnesota. Officers arriving on the scene found three vehicles involved: a Jeep Compass, a Honda Accord, and a Dodge Durango. The Jeep reportedly sustained catastrophic damage after splitting in half in the collision with the stoplight.
Rough location of fatal crash in Eagan, Minnesota.
Inside the Jeep were Schultz, the driver, and Cronin, the passenger. Both were unresponsive when police arrived. Schultz died shortly after arriving at a hospital; Cronin died of his injuries on July 1, 2025. The Honda was unoccupied but sustained significant damage, and the Dodge, driven by Little, had no apparent damage.
Investigators later determined Weiland was the driver of the Honda and had fled the scene in another vehicle before police arrived. He was later found at a local hospital and admitted that he was the driver of the Honda at the time of the crash.
Racing at 110 MPH
Investigators obtained surveillance footage from the Minnesota Department of Transportation and cell phone videos taken from inside the vehicles. These revealed the Jeep, Honda, and Dodge traveling south on Highway 149 at speeds approaching 110 mph, weaving through traffic and passing vehicles at high speeds. Moments before the crash, the Jeep and Honda lost control and crossed over the concrete median. The Jeep struck a semaphore pole and split in two. The Honda careened across the intersection.
Little and Weiland both admitted to being part of a group of 5–10 vehicles participating in a "car meet-up" earlier that evening in South St. Paul, Minnesota. Witnesses told police the three vehicles appeared to have broken off from the main group and were racing to a second meet-up in Eagan. Little told investigators that she slowed down and denied racing, but admitted to traveling at speeds of up to 70 mph. However, video evidence contradicted her claim, showing her Dodge also reaching speeds near 110 mph.
Weiland told police he was traveling around 90 mph and admitted the curve and intersection "came out of nowhere." He also admitted to consuming alcohol earlier in the day, and a preliminary breath test showed a BAC of 0.013. Weiland acknowledged that their driving “probably looked like racing” and admitted his actions were “eminently dangerous.”
Prior Offenses and Bail Conditions
Both defendants have histories of traffic violations. Little has three prior speeding convictions, as well as two pending citations from May and July of this year. Prosecutors argue that this pattern, along with the nature of the charges, makes her a continued risk to public safety.
Bail for both defendants has been requested to be set at $400,000 without conditions or $300,000 with multiple conditions, including no contact with the victims' families, no use of drugs or alcohol, travel restrictions, and electronic monitoring for Weiland.
County Attorney Keena thanked the Eagan Police Department and the Minnesota State Patrol for their work in the investigation.
“These charges reflect the deadly consequences of reckless and dangerous behavior behind the wheel,” Keena said in a statement. “Racing on public roads endangers not only those involved but everyone else on the roadway.”
The criminal complaints make clear that under Minnesota law, all participants in a street race can be held criminally responsible for any resulting deaths or injuries, even if their vehicle was not the one that physically crashed.
You can find our original reporting on this incident here: One Dead, Two Injured in Serious Crash on Highway 149 in Eagan.
Provided by the Dakota County Jail. Pictured (left) Jordan John Weiland, (right) Melody Lynn Little.
Written by: Will Wight
