A 31-year-old Rochester woman who drove drunk and crashed with her five children in her car pleaded guilty Monday in Dakota County District Court to criminal vehicular operation and child endangerment, both gross misdemeanors.
Kyra L. Lindsey will be sentenced Jan. 16 by District Judge Joseph Carter. The children, who were ages 3 months to 9 years when the incident happened Feb. 28, 2011, were not seriously injured.
According to the criminal complaint, Lindsey lost control of her car on Hwy. 52 south of Hampton, in southern Dakota County, about 2:45 a.m. She hit a guardrail on the right side of the road, then careened across both lanes of traffic and ended up in a ditch in the median. Lindsey told investigators she was returning home after visiting a friend. The trooper who responded to the crash noticed an "overwhelming odor" of alcohol when he stepped into the ambulance to talk to Lindsey. She claimed to have hit a patch of ice, but the trooper noted in his report that the road was completely dry.
Lindsey was originally charged with four counts of criminal vehicular operation, child endangerment and drunken driving. She pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal vehicular operation and one of child endangerment. The other charges will be dismissed at her sentencing hearing.
PAT PHEIFER
