Updated: 05/14/2009 11:37 AM KSTP.com | Print Story
By: Nicole Muehlhausen, Web Producer
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Mpls. woman charged in fatal fiery crash
 

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A Minneapolis woman faces criminal charges after police say she was the driver of vehicle that crashed into several other cars, resulting in a fiery crash that killed one person in December 2008.

Police say the incident happened at the intersection of Highway 252 and 66th Avenue in Brooklyn Center on Dec. 13, 2008 shortly after 6 p.m.

When officials arrived, they found one vehicle engulfed in flames. The driver, James William Wolter, was trapped inside and died at the scene.

According to the criminal complaint, witnesses said the driver of a silver Chevy Trailblazer—Melissa Kathleen Heus, 32—had slammed into Wolter’s vehicle, causing it to burst into flames.

Police say Heus was semi-coherent when they questioned her and smelled of alcohol. Her blood alcohol content was found to be .36, four and a half times the legal limit to drive.

Three other vehicles were involved in the crash—none of those drivers suffered life-threatening injuries, according to the complaint.

A background check on Heus reveals she has two prior drunk driving convictions from 2004 and 2006.

Heus faces criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation in the 2008 incident. If convicted of both counts, she faces up to 13 years in prison, a $30,000 fine, or both.

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