Charges: Driver that overturned semi on highway ramp was intoxicated
A semi driver who overturned his rig on a highway off-ramp early Monday morning was allegedly intoxicated at the time of the crash.
Daniel Darrell Dorsey, 38, of Denver, Colorado, was charged Monday in Nicollet County Court with three counts of DWI.
A Minnesota State Trooper responded just before 1 a.m. to a crash at the Highway 14 and Highway 169 intersection where they found a tractor-trailer lying on its side and Dorsey climbing out of the cab.
A criminal complaint says the trooper noted a slight smell of alcohol when he was speaking to Dorsey about how the crash occurred. Dorsey allegedly told the trooper he had been driving about 45 mph and was distracted when his cell phone went off.
Dorsey denied drinking any recent alcohol consumption, but told the trooper he had drank the day before, according to the complaint.
Court documents say Dorsey showed signs of impairment while performing field sobriety tests. A portable breath test put his blood-alcohol level at .20, according to the complaint. Dorsey was arrested. A breath test administered at the Nicollet County Jail within two hours of the crash showed his blood-alcohol concentration was .23.
