by Anthony Gockowski
DFL Rep. Brion Curran was charged with two gross misdemeanor DWI counts Tuesday after she was arrested in Chisago County for driving twice the legal limit.
According to the charging document, a Chisago County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a report around 2:05 a.m. Monday of an SUV “off the road” on I-35 in Harris, Minn.
A few minutes earlier, police received another complaint of a red SUV that was driving “all over the road and speeding” while traveling north on I-35 toward North Branch.
A deputy caught up with the vehicle as it was driving slowly on the shoulder with its hazard lights on and appeared to have “fresh damage” on the front corner and a flat tire.
When the deputy approached the vehicle, Curran (pictured above) had “bloodshot watery eyes and slurred speech” and said she was having trouble getting home. She lives in Vadnais Heights and told the deputy she thought she was in St. Paul.
Curran completed one field sobriety test and “showed signs of impairment” but declined to complete the remaining tests or take a preliminary breath test. She told the deputy she had three drinks that night.
She was placed under arrest and booked into the Chisago County Jail, where she agreed to take a breath test at 3:26 a.m. The result was a BAC of 0.16, twice the legal limit.
Curran did not respond to a request for comment. She is the third state legislator to be arrested for drunk driving this year. The other two are Rep. Dan Wolgamott, DFL-St. Cloud, and Rep. Matt Grossell, R-Clearbrook.
Curran is in her first term in the Minnesota House and previously worked as a deputy for the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office, according to her campaign website.
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Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and reported for The Daily Caller.
Photo “Brion Curran” by Chisago County Sheriff’s Office.
