A man has been arrested after he was allegedly driving while under the influence of alcohol. After the traffic stop, he fled police officers in Cottage Grove.
According to the Cottage Grove Police, officers responded to a call that stated an elderly man hit a rock and ran over a curb on 80th Street. The caller told police that it appeared that the driver was intoxicated and headed northbound on Highway 11.
Police were able to catch up with the SUV around 70th Street and they observed a flat tire that was losing its rubber. They then attempted to pull the driver over, but he would not do so. The driver then turned onto another road and was driving the wrong way on a one way street.
As officers continued pursuing the vehicle, they noticed that the SUV had flames underneath it. That is when they called out. The driver finally stopped and the officers were able to remove the driver from the car. He had no injuries, but police said that he was obviously intoxicated.
The Newport Fire Department responded to the call and they were able to put the fire out. There was no one else injured during the chase or the SUV fire. The man was then transported to the Cottage Grove Police Department where he was charged with DWI and felony fleeing.
Because the man’s wallet burned up in the fire, they were not able to immediately identify him. The SUV is registered in South Dakota.
This incident comes after a Memorial Day Weekend that saw 3 fatalities on Minnesota’s roads and 425 DWI arrests.
In Wright County, a motorcyclist was killed, Rice County saw a driver not wearing their seatbelt killed, and another driver was killed in Le Sueur. All three accidents occurred Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and brought the total number of roadway fatalities to 111 for 2014. This includes the five motorcycle fatalities that have happened so far. The total number of deaths is just one fatality higher than this time last year.
The total number of crashes in the state over the holiday weekend totaled 466 and 288 of them resulted in injuries.
If you are pulled over for DWI in Minnesota, you can expect for a number of tests to be administered. The preliminary breath test is not admissible in court, but the blood or urine test that follows is. If this leads to a conviction, then the DWI remains on your criminal record for life.
If you or a loved one has been arrested for DWI, contact Minnesota DWI attorney, F.T. Sessoms, to get all the answers to your DWI questions.