A Minnesota woman has been charged with driving while under the influence and two counts of child endangerment for allegedly driving drunk with her 4-year-old twin children. After being taken into custody on June 24, the 41-year-old Eagan resident was transported to the Dakota County Jail for processing. Her two children are being cared for by their grandmother according to media reports.
Officers from the Eagan Police Department were dispatched to the Cliff Road area after emergency dispatchers received a call about a vehicle being driven recklessly with two children inside. The caller is said to have reported that the car ran a red light and then braked sharply after almost striking another vehicle. Police say that they quickly found the car described by the caller parked in the vicinity and observed a woman removing children from it.
When officers questioned the woman, she allegedly admitted to ignoring a red light. Officers say that they suspected the woman was impaired when they noticed her eyes were bloodshot and several other signs of intoxication. Breath tests conducted at the scene and then later at a police facility allegedly revealed the woman’s blood alcohol concentration to be between .26 and .31. Drivers are considered intoxicated in Minnesota when they get behind the wheel with BACs of .08 or higher.
The drunk driving penalties can be severe in Minnesota when suspects have BACs that are two or three times the legal limit and place children in danger. However, proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in these cases is not always straightforward for prosecutors. Criminal defense attorneys with experience in this area may challenge BAC evidence when the equipment used to perform toxicology tests was not maintained adequately or the police officers using it lacked proper training, and they could also question the validity of drunk driving arrests made by officers who did not observe the suspect operating a motor vehicle.