Home
Investigators

Smashed: The toll of driving drunk in Minnesota

Reporter's Notebook: DWI series

Video by: Matt Gillmer
Updated: March 22, 2011 - 3:50 PM

Aimee Blanchette and Richard Meryhew talk about how Minnesota compares to other states in DWI penalties.

Tweet
share

email
Email share

your name

your email

recipients email

+ add a comment add a comment

about this series
In Minnesota, drunken drivers who kill someone with their car sometimes get less time behind bars than nonviolent offenders. Public safety advocates say it's part of a culture of forgiveness surrounding drunken driving, a social problem that killed 893 people on Minnesota roads in the past five years. Read the Star Tribune's in-depth look at the scourge of drunken driving, the victims it claims and the public safety questions it raises.

related content
Minnesota vs. deadly DWIs: Who's winning?

Wednesday March 30, 2011

Minnesota gets high marks among states for enforcement, but not for punishment.
Smashed: The toll of driving drunk in Minnesota

Wednesday May 16, 2012

more from this series
DWI drivers who kill can get off easy

In nearly 60 percent of cases calling for four years in prison, drivers serve a year or less in jail.
Fatal mistakes: First DWI

Repeat offenders spur outrage, but the majority of Minnesota's alcohol-related fatalities involves first-timers who aren't on the justice system's radar.
Drink, drive, arrest, repeat

In Minnesota, 46,748 drivers have at least 4 DWI arrests. They form a dangerous group that's hard to treat or punish.
Minnesota lives derailed by drunk drivers

Those injured by drunken drivers say the emotional and physical costs are lifelong. Over the last decade, more than 37,000 Minnesotans...
DWI drivers who kill can get off easy

In nearly 60 percent of cases calling for four years in prison, drivers serve a year or less in jail.
Drink, drive, arrest, repeat

In Minnesota, 46,748 drivers have at least 4 DWI arrests. They form a dangerous group that's hard to treat or punish.
Fatal mistakes: First DWI

Repeat offenders spur outrage, but the majority of Minnesota's alcohol-related fatalities involves first-timers who aren't on the justice system's radar.
Army of tragedy confronts DWIs

Some are victims, others are offenders or relatives. Every day, countless volunteers speak up, with tears and bitter grief, trying to...
Cutting off the tap to drunks is a messy business

It's illegal for bars to serve drunken people, but enforcing the law is incredibly difficult, state and local authorities are finding...
Minnesota vs. deadly DWIs: Who's winning?

Minnesota gets high marks among states for enforcement, but not for punishment. Nearly 900 people in Minnesota have been killed in...
In fight against DWIs, 2 counties focus on cause

Alcohol-related crashes are down in Anoka and Ramsey counties, where repeat offenders spend less time in jail if they quit drinking.
Driver's apology not enough for family

Kirsten Driscoll, a Minneapolis mother of three, will serve eight months in jail for killing Christopher Iverson as she drove home...
Minnesota's 'DWI guy' grew weary of the grind

Don Nichols. Minnesota's top DWI defense lawyer, walked away when the "hopelessness" got to him. | Special Project: Smashed.
Tearful drunk driver apologizes

Connie Ann Stroud didn't wait for sentencing to apologize to the couple whose fetus died in a wrong-way crash.
See the full series pageFull story

Tweet
share

email
Email share

your name

your email

recipients email

+ add a comment add a comment

from the homepage

inside the StarTribune

Log In

Change Password

investigators

Change Location

Smashed: The toll of driving drunk in Minnesota

Reporter's Notebook: DWI series

about this series

related content

Minnesota vs. deadly DWIs: Who's winning?

Smashed: The toll of driving drunk in Minnesota

more from this series

DWI drivers who kill can get off easy

Fatal mistakes: First DWI

Drink, drive, arrest, repeat

Minnesota lives derailed by drunk drivers

DWI drivers who kill can get off easy

Drink, drive, arrest, repeat

Fatal mistakes: First DWI

Army of tragedy confronts DWIs

Cutting off the tap to drunks is a messy business

Minnesota vs. deadly DWIs: Who's winning?

In fight against DWIs, 2 counties focus on cause

Driver's apology not enough for family

Minnesota's 'DWI guy' grew weary of the grind

Tearful drunk driver apologizes

from the homepage

inside the StarTribune

Home

Home

lifestyle

projects

projects

vita.mn

Email or username:
Password:

Forgot your password? \| Not a member? Register now

Current:
New Password:
Confirm New Password: