Woman, 28, Pleads Guilty To Drunken Crash That Killed 1

HASTINGS (WCCO) -- A 28-year-old Inver Grove Heights woman has pleaded guilty in connection to a September 2010 drunken crash that killed her passenger, according to the Dakota County Attorney's Office.

Cassandra Balsimo pled guilty Monday to one count of criminal vehicular homicide in connection to the crash, which took the life of 27-year-old Brenda Del Carmen Perez Lafarga.

According to the criminal complaint, at around 2:32 a.m. on Sept. 12, 2010, Minnesota State Patrol responded to a crash on northbound Interstate 35W at Lone Oak Road. In the crash, Lafarga was ejected when Balsimo's SUV lost control and flipped multiple times. Lafarga died shortly after.

Balsimo admitted to authorities that she had been drinking wine prior to driving. An investigation revealed that her blood alcohol level at the time of the crash was approximately .18.

Basimo's sentencing hearing has been set for Feb. 21, 2012.