Jail for DWI driver in high-speed St. Paul crash

Adam Rohrs, who slammed into another car going 91 miles an hour on Snelling Avenue, got two 30-day jail terms and 10 years of probation.

By PAT PHEIFER, Star Tribune

Last update: November 26, 2008 - 8:53 PM

Adam Rohrs told Ramsey County District Judge Margaret Marrinan before he was sentenced Wednesday that he's a changed man since he drove drunk and caused a high-speed accident that nearly killed four people.

Rohrs, 25, pleaded guilty Oct. 1 to two counts of criminal vehicular operation. Marrinan sentenced him to two 30-day consecutive jail terms. She also ordered him to serve 10 years' probation, pay $20,000 in fines and do 80 hours of community service. He must take an educational DWI course, attend a Mothers Against Drunk Drivers victims panel and abstain from alcohol and drugs.

He was driving 91 miles per hour in a 40-mph zone when he rear-ended a vehicle on Snelling Avenue in Roseville about 1:30 a.m. March 29. His blood-alcohol level two hours later was 0.21 percent, just over 2 1/2 times the legal limit for driving.

According to court documents, Rohrs told police he had stopped at two bars earlier that evening before deciding to go to Blaine, but he changed his mind and was going home to Burnsville. Before turning south onto Snelling Avenue, he also had reportedly driven the wrong way on Hwy. 36, the complaint said.

An officer clocked him driving his sport-utility vehicle at 88 mph near the Har Mar Mall. The officer made a U-turn to give chase, then turned to see Rohrs slam into a vehicle that was slowing for a light.

Two of the four occupants in that vehicle were critically injured. They survived.

Defense attorney Charles Hawkins told Marrinan that the accident had a profound effect on Rohrs, who "has not consumed a drop of alcohol" since then.

Said Rohrs: "This has affected me greatly. It's been difficult to cope with and will be for the rest of my life."

Marrinan told Rohrs that although he has shown remorse and "learned a lesson in some ways," he seemed more concerned about the effect the accident has had on him than on the victims.

"You're really lucky you didn't kill these people," she said.

The victims were not in court Wednesday. Although his attorney asked the judge to allow Rohrs to turn himself in on Dec. 2, Marrinan ordered him taken into custody immediately. He waved to his family as he was escorted to a holding cell.

Pat Pheifer • 651-298-1551