Olmsted County Motorist Caught With .34 BAC During DWI Crackdown
St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - A recent crackdown on impaired driving in Minnesota resulted in more than 1000 arrests.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety says State Troopers, along with officers and deputies from nearly 300 local law enforcement agencies, arrested 1140 motorists for driving impaired during the Labor Day DWI campaign. The enhanced enforcement effort was conducted between August 18 and September 4.
A news release issued by the Public Safety Department listed some of the more egregious offenses:
- The Becker County Sheriff’s Office stopped a vehicle for speeding. The driver was arrested for a controlled substance DWI. Over 145 grams of methamphetamine and cocaine mixed with fentanyl were also recovered.
- Blooming Prairie police arrested a driver for first degree-DWI. The driver had five prior convictions in the last 10 years.
- The Chisago County Sheriff’s Office responded to a single-vehicle crash. Before deputies arrived, the passenger in the crash tried driving the vehicle from the scene. Both the driver and passenger were arrested for DWI.
- A Minnesota State Patrol trooper in the Marshall district responded to a crash. An intoxicated driver rear-ended another vehicle at a stop sign. A breath test showed the driver had a 0.330 BAC. They were taken to detox due to the level of intoxication.
- Oak Park Heights police arrested two different drivers for DWI. One from a road rage incident and the other from a wrong-way driving complaint.
- The Winona County Sheriff’s Office arrested the same driver twice in three days for DWI.
- Minnesota State Patrol troopers stopped a driver for going 107 mph in a 70 mph zone. They arrested the driver for DWI with a 0.14 BAC. Another driver was speeding 99 mph in a 60 mph and was arrested for DWI with a 0.13 BAC.
The Olmsted County Sheriff's Office reported seven DWI arrests associated with the crackdown, while the Rochester Police Department reported 18 arrests. One of the arrests made by an Olmsted County deputy involved a person with a blood-alcohol-concentration of .34, which is more than four times the legal limit. The highest BAC reading reported by any of the law enforcement agencies involved in the campaign was .44 in Nobles County.
The law enforcement agencies also conducted a crackdown aimed at motorists who ignore Minnesota's Move Over Law. 125 citations were issued statewide. The enforcement campaign took place on August 31, which was the 23rd anniversary of the death of State Patrol Corporal Ted Foss, who was struck by a passing vehicle during a traffic stop along I-90 in Winona County.
The law was expanded this year to include stalled or disabled vehicles with lights flashing or at least one person visibly present outside of the vehicle.
