DWI charges: Woman more than 4x’s legal limit when she caused crash in rural Le Sueur County

Police say a woman was more than four times the legal alcohol limit when she caused a crash at a rural Le Sueur County intersection last month.

Angela Ann Haugen, 48, of Bloomington, was charged Thursday in Le Sueur County Court with gross misdemeanor 2nd-degree DWI, and misdemeanor counts of careless driving and failure to yield right of way.

Le Sueur County deputies responded at 11:51 a.m. on Feb 24 to a report of a three-vehicle crash at county roads 28 and 3, between Montgomery and New Prague.

A criminal complaint says one of the drivers, Jonathan Sun Meirink, 42, told police he was westbound on Co Rd 28 when Haugen’s SUV pulled out in front of him, resulting in the crash.

Police say Haugen, who admitted to being the sole occupant of the vehicle, smelled strongly of alcohol and her eyes appeared watery.  The complaint says Haugen told police she had been drinking the previous night at the Montgomery Golf Course.

Court documents say a preliminary breath test put Hagen’s blood alcohol level at .22.  A blood sample tested by the Minnesota Bureau of Apprehension indicated her blood-alcohol content was at .36, more than four times the legal limit.

Police say Hagen has two previous DWI convictions from 2020 and 2021.

The complaint says Haugen’s car was heavily damaged in the crash.  There was no information about the third driver or the medical condition of any of the crash victims.  The Le Sueur County Sheriff’s Office declined to provide crash reports to SMN saying the “case is still open.”

 

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