CHISAGO COUNTY, Minn. — A Minnesota lawmaker is dealing with some legal challenges after being charged with driving under the influence with an alcohol level twice the legal limit.
State Representative Brion Marie Curran was stopped early Monday on the shoulder of northbound I-35 near Harris in Chisago County. A criminal complaint filed in the incident lays out two gross misdemeanor charges of DWI, one including aggravating circumstances for a blood alcohol content (BAC) measure .16, twice the Minnesota standard of .08.
Court documents say dispatchers received a call just after 2 a.m. reporting an SUV that was off the road. Just 10 minutes earlier the Chisago County Sheriff's Office had received another call from a motorist saying a red SUV, possibly a Mazda, was approaching North Branch, speeding and all over the road.
A Chisago County deputy arrived at the scene and didn't locate any vehicles matching the caller's description, but after heading north on I-35 came up on a red Mazda CX-5 with its hazard lights flashing. The driver was proceeding slowly on the shoulder of the interstate and had a flat driver's side front tire.
The deputy turned on his emergency lights, stopped the SUV and approached the vehicle. He confirmed the front tire was flat and noticed fresh damage to the front corner of the vehicle, court documents said. The driver, soon identified as 38-year-old Brion Marie Curran, was said to have bloodshot, watery eyes and smelled of alcohol. When the deputy asked her what was going on Curran reportedly answered that she was having trouble getting home. When Curran was reportedly asked where she was, she told the deputy she was in St. Paul and according to the criminal complaint, allegedly admitted to having "three drinks."
Prosecutors say Curran had trouble performing a field sobriety test, and then declined to complete the rest. She refused to take a field sobriety test but then agreed to take one after being taken to the Chisago County jail. The test registered .16, twice Minnesota's legal limit, the complaint said.
KARE 11 contacted the DFL party and was told there would be no comment on Curran's situation. Messages left with her office were not returned.
Curran, a first-term DFLer, represents District 36B which includes Vadnais Heights and White Bear Lake, among other communities.
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