Charles City woman pleads not guilty in traffic fatalities; trial set for February

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A Charles City woman charged with two counts of homicide by vehicle for the deaths of a Mason City couple in a traffic accident has pleaded not guilty and a trial date has been set for February.

Casey Jo Lindahl, age 28, was officially charged last Thursday with two counts of homicide by vehicle, unintentionally caused while operating while under the influence. Each count is a Class B felony.

She was also charged with child endangerment because her 3-year-old son was in her car when she was allegedly driving while intoxicated. That charge is an aggravated misdemeanor.

Judge DeDra Schroeder accepted the written plea of not guilty filed by Lindahl’s attorney on Thursday and set trial for Feb. 15 in Floyd County District Court – although it is rare in a case with this severity of charges that a trial is held on the first scheduled date.

Schroeder also ordered that the bond, of $50,000 on the felony charges and $2,000 on the misdemeanor charge, remain in place. Lindahl is currently released from custody after having posted 10% cash – $5,000 – on the $50,000 bond.

Lindahl is accused of causing the deaths of Chris Andersen, age 77, and Anita Andersen, age 76, of Mason City, in a traffic accident that occurred the afternoon of Sept. 4, 2021, west of Colwell, when she allegedly crossed the center line and crashed her vehicle head-on into the Andersen vehicle.

According to the criminal complaints filed in Floyd County District Court, a search warrant was ordered to take a blood sample from Lindahl and the result showed she had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.146%.