Public safety advocates tell drivers to not text and drive, to not drink and drive and to not be distracted by your pet while driving
A 30-year old area woman allowed herself to be distracted by all three on Thursday, and consequently ended up striking a tree in the 4700 block of County Road 3 Southwest in Salem Township. She was arrested and could face charges of second-degree driving while intoxicated and texting while driving, said Olmsted County Sheriff Capt. Scott Behrens.
The woman was not injured and her vehicle suffered minor damage. The crash was reported at 5:55 p.m.
Behrens said that after the accident, the woman admitted to texting while she was driving. She had a dog in the back seat, and the dog tried to move to the front seat. She pushed the dog back, lost control of her vehicle, hit some ice, went into a ditch and struck a tree. She was later found to have a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.12 percent.
