The longest-serving commissioner now on the Washington County Board was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Forest Lake over the weekend.
Dennis Hegberg, 62, failed a sobriety test after an officer stopped him. He was taken to the police department, where he registered a 0.14 percent blood-alcohol level, Police Chief Clark Quiring said Tuesday. The state's legal limit for driving is 0.08.
Hegberg, attending a national transportation conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, expressed remorse over the phone and said he won't contest the charge. "I admit I was drinking and admitted it to the officer when he picked me up," said Hegberg, a Forest Lake resident and banker. "I'm sorry for my inappropriate behavior and poor judgment on a Friday night."
Hegberg said he had spent the evening with friends, starting with dinner that began at 4 p.m. He estimated he drank four mixed drinks and some wine in the nine hours before his arrest.
"It won't happen again," said Hegberg, who said this was his first arrest. "It was a stupid unfortunate incident on my part."
Quiring said an officer saw a vehicle turn left off Lake Street, or Hwy. 61, without signaling. As the vehicle continued east on Hwy. 97 the officer saw it cross the fog line -- the white strip that separates the driving lane from the shoulder -- three times before pulling the car over, Quiring said. "He could smell the odor of alcoholic beverages," the chief said.
Hegberg was alone in the car and was cooperative with police, Quiring said. Hegberg was cited for fourth-degree drunken driving and released to a sober person who came to get him at the police department, the chief said.
Hegberg, who joined the County Board in 1989, was reelected to his seventh term in November. He represents District 1, which includes Forest Lake, Hugo and Scandia.
