Law enforcement says that several people called 911 shortly before 3:00 in the morning December 16 to report a single vehicle accident along Highway 100 near 36th Street in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.
A Minnesota State Highway Patrol trooper responded to the area and says that a car had struck a retaining wall along the highway. The trooper says that the car was smoking, and a man identified as a 47-year-old New Richland. Minnesota resident was in the driver’s seat of the damaged vehicle.
The trooper requested that the man get out of his vehicle. Law enforcement claims that the driver was off-balance after the traffic wreck. After the man allegedly stumbled, the trooper says that the driver admitted to having consumed alcohol that night.
Eventually during the accident investigation, the trooper arrested the driver on suspicion of driving while impaired. Hennepin County authorities claim that the man registered 0.20 percent blood alcohol concentration on a breath test after his arrest.
While the legal limit to drive in Minnesota is set at 0.08 percent BAC as measured within two hours of driving, Minnesota law makes a reading of 0.20 percent BAC an aggravating factor that can be used to enhance a DWI charge.
The New Richland man reportedly has been charged with second-degree DWI in Hennepin County. Authorities claim that the driver has a DWI conviction on his record from 2007. A prior DWI conviction or other qualified prior impaired driving incident within the preceding ten years is also among the specified aggravating factors that can enhance a DWI charge.
The man was booked into jail and later released on a $12,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on the gross misdemeanor DWI charge January 4 in Hennepin County.
Source: St. Louis Park Patch, “Man Arrested for DWI After Police Say He Smashed Into Retaining Wall,” Betsy Sundquist, Dec. 20, 2012
