A Cannon Falls woman was charged with DWI for almost hitting an officer who was helping out at an accident scene.
Prosecutors charged 40-year-old Christina Leigh Ekstrom of Cannon Falls with two counts of driving while impaired in the third degree for the near-miss in June.
According to the criminal complaint: a Dakota County sheriff's deputy was helping a police officer at an accident in the township of Greenvale on June 20 at 1:23 a.m. A Northfield officer was already on the scene of the accident so the Dakota County deputy parked his squad directly behind the Northfield squad.
As the Dakota Co. deputy was getting out of his squad car and walking towards the police officer, the deputy heard a car traveling north on County Road 23 to westbound 320th Street West.
The car's tires were squealing as it came around a curve and did not slow down as it got close to the squad cars. The car came within one foot of striking the deputy.
The deputy was able to get back into his squad and catch up with the car. After pulling Ekstrom over, the deputy noticed the odor of alcohol coming from the car. Ekstrom told the deputy she had "one beer earlier."
Ekstrom failed a field sobriety test and the officer arrested her. She also has a prior DWI conviction in Goodhue County from 2005.
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