A Minneapolis woman's blood alcohol level was four and a half times the legal limit when officials say she caused a fiery five-car crash last year that injured three people and left a fourth man to burn to death in his car.

Melissa Kathleen Heus, 32, was charged this month with criminal vehicular homicide, criminal vehicular operation and second-degree driving while impaired in the Dec. 13, 2008, crash that killed James William Wolter, 37, of Blaine.

Wolter was in one of four vehicles stopped at a traffic light at the intersection of Hwy. 252 and 66th Avenue N. in Brooklyn Center when Heus slammed into the rear of his Chrysler LeBaron at high speed shortly after 6 p.m., causing Wolter's vehicle to spin out of control and burst into flames.

According to the charges: Police arrived to find the Le Baron engulfed in flames with Wolter inside, but could not get close to the vehicle because of the intense heat. After the fire was extinguished, police found Wolter's body in the front seat.

Three witnesses told police that Heus showed no signs of slowing down before she slammed into Wolter's vehicle. Investigators approached Heus, who was in the front seat of her Chevy Trailblazer with the air bags deployed. Heus "slurred her words, mumbled," was only semi-coherent and smelled of alcohol, they said.

When asked how much she had to drink, Heus mumbled, "What does it matter?" and "Not going to tell." Asked where she had been that evening, Heus mumbled that it was "none of [the officer's] business" and "I'm not going to tell you," the charges said.

Heus then struggled with EMTs at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale.

Her blood sample tested at 0.36 percent alcohol.

After the crash, one woman had to undergo emergency brain surgery and was hospitalized for five weeks.

One of the witnesses said he "heard screeching" before the crash, and immediately saw Wolter's vehicle on fire. He saw Wolter in the front seat unconscious or dead and tried to kick the door handle open before the heat became too intense. He ran to his vehicle to get something to break the window, but when he returned the vehicle was engulfed in flames, the charges said.

Minnesota State Patrol investigators downloaded data from Heus' vehicle, which revealed that there was no braking for the eight seconds before her air bags were deployed, and that the speed increased from 75 to 84 miles per hour before the crash.

Abby Simons • 612-673-4921