Suspected Repeat DWI Offender Rams SUV into Stalled Vehicle, Killing One

Case Highlights Need for New Ignition Interlock Law

Last July, Julie Ann Fischer, 49, of Lakeville, was arrested for DWI with a blood alcohol content of .20 – more than twice the legal limit.
That arrest, however, didn’t prevent Fischer from again driving impaired Friday night. According to witnesses, Fischer’s SUV was “swerving all over the road” before crashing into the rear of a car stalled in the right-hand lane of northbound 35E in Mendota Heights. The accident killed 50 year-old Tijuan Moore of St. Paul and injured 26 year-old Lisa Nicole Newsom, also of St. Paul.
When a new DWI law goes into effect next July, repeat offenders like Fischer will not be able drive their cars – quite literally.
Under the law, signed last May by Governor Pawlenty, people arrested for driving with a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit and repeat drunken drivers will be required to pay for the installation of ignition locks in their vehicles. In order to start the vehicle, the driver must blow into a tube. The device measures the alcohol in the person's breath and prevents the vehicle from starting if the reading is 0.02 or above.
State Patrol Captain Matt Langer calls the new ignition interlock law a critical step in the fight against impaired driving. We agree with Captain Langer and hope the law brings an end to the senseless tragedies caused by repeat DWI offenders.

If you or a loved one have been injured by a drunk driver call or email cory.whalen@knowyourrights.com.

Cory P. Whalen
Attorney At Law
Sieben, Grose, Von Holtum & Carey
800 Marquette Avenue, Suite 900
Minneapolis, MN 55402
612-333-9782