Over 1,600 arrested in Minnesota during end-of-summer DWI enforcement

More than 1,600 people were arrested on Minnesota roads during the end-of-summer DWI enforcement campaign.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety said 312 law enforcement agencies participated in the campaign, which ran from Aug. 14 through Sept. 7. A total of 1,649 drivers were arrested for driving impaired compared to 1,479 during the same period in 2019.

Additionally, 294 move-over citations were issued on Aug. 31, down from 314 each of the past two years. This year marked the 20th anniversary of Corporal Ted Foss’ death, which led to Minnesota’s move-over law.

The DWI arrests included:

• The Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office arrested a woman allegedly heavily impaired on prescription medications. She had driven from Drayton, North Dakota, to Bagley, Minnesota, and was attempting to go to Bemidji.
• Cottage Grove police arrested a driver at .14 BAC who had a 1- and 13-year-old in the vehicle.
• In Douglas County, deputies arrested a father and son in separate DWI cases in one night. The arrest resulted in the seizure of both vehicles.
• A Douglas County off-duty deputy was nearly hit head-on by a drunk driver who was arrested for DWI.
• In Eden Prairie, a woman who arrived up for work around 5 a.m. was arrested for a .26 DWI.
• Le Sueur police arrested a driver traveling the wrong way on Hwy 169 for DWI.
• Maple Grove police arrested a woman twice in the same day for DWI. The first time was around 10 a.m. and the second time was around 5 p.m. Police released the woman to a sober party after normal booking procedures following the first arrest. The second time, she was arrested following a complaint at a local liquor store.
• A trooper stopped a driver after the vehicle passed the squad going 91 mph. The driver blew a .21 BAC and was arrested for DWI.
• New Brighton police arrested a driver for going more than a 100 mph and blowing a .15 BAC.
• Thief River Falls police arrested a woman for a DWI who blew a .15 BAC at 3 p.m.

According to DPS, several people were arrested with blood-alcohol concentrations above 0.3; the legal limit in Minnesota is 0.08. The highest BAC was .38.

Eden Prairie police led the Twin Cities metro area in DWI arrests with 38 during the campaign. In Greater Minnesota, District 2100 of the Minnesota State Patrol, which is in the Rochester area, had the most DWI arrests during the campaign with 33.

The enhanced enforcement and education efforts are coordinated through the DPS Office of Traffic Safety with overtime paid with federal funds received from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

So far in 2020, DPS said 16,467 drivers have been arrested in Minnesota, down from 19,841 at this same time in 2019. DPS added that DWI arrests in each month from June through September (so far) have been lower than compared to 2019, but each of the three summer months still averaged more than 2,000 DWI arrests per month.

DPS says nearly one out of every four deaths on Minnesota roads is connected to drunk driving.

A DWI can lead to a driver losing their license for up to a year, costing thousands of dollars in related fees and possible jail time. Repeat offenders or first-time offenders arrested at .16 and higher must use ignition interlock to regain driving privileges. Ignition interlock is required for three to six years for those with three or more DWIs.

DPS reminded drivers that it’s easy to avoid all of that by planning a safe ride by designating a sober driver or using another transportation option, buckling up and reporting drunk driving whenever you see it.