Woman Charged With DWI After Driving Into Blaine Swamp
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Lino Lakes woman faces criminal charges after driving into a swamp last month, according to the Anoka County Attorney's office.
Renae Gail Tollefson, 60, was charged with one count of first-degree driving while impaired in connection to an incident on Nov. 6.
The criminal complaint says witnesses called 911 after seeing a white Dodge Avenger go into a swamp near Interstate 35W and Lake Drive in Blaine just after midnight.
A Minnesota State Patrol officer says Tolllefson was behind the wheel, smelled strongly of alcohol and had slurred speech.
A preliminary breath test revealed her blood-alcohol level was 0.17 -- more than twice the legal limit – and she was arrested.
The complaint says Tollefson agreed to a blood draw while in the Anoka County Jail, but the test results could not be used because she consumed some Diazepam pills that the state patrol officer had left on a table after they were confiscated from her possession. Tollefson also faces one count of introducing contraband into a jail.
The Woodbury Bulletin reported that Tollefson was sentenced to two months in jail in 2011 after she seriously injured two motorcyclists after crashing into them while driving drunk.
She could face up to eight years behind bars if convicted of both charges.