Deputy faces drug charges in crash that killed two people

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (KVRR/KFGO) – An Otter Tail County  deputy has been charged with misconduct and driving under the influence of fentanyl in connection to a high-speed chase that ended in a deadly crash in Fergus Falls last October.

Deputy Kelly Backman was in pursuit of a minivan driven by a man in a drug investigation when the van slammed into a car.

Seventy-two-year-old Steve Christianson and his 71-year-old wife, Diane, both of Fergus falls, were killed in the collision.

The complaint says Backman tested positive for an anti-anxiety medication that had been prescribed and also fentanyl.