Police: Woman Drove 2 Kids To School While Drunk

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 55-year-old Eden Prairie woman was arrested last Friday for driving drunk while dropping two children off at their elementary school in Minnetonka, according to police.

Kelly Ann Belanger was arrested on suspicion of second-degree DWI and child endangerment. According to a police report, she was dropping off two children at Scenic Heights Elementary School just before 8 a.m. and a witness reported she was swaying and had glossy eyes.

Officers stopped her vehicle after the children were dropped off and immediately noticed a strong smell of alcohol on her. She struggled with several field sobriety tests and admitted to police she had a half glass of wine before driving. Belanger said she woke up at 3 a.m. and had consumed wine at 7 a.m.

Police say she refused a preliminary breath test and she was arrested for DWI. She was transported to the Minnetonka Police Department, where she took a breath test after speaking with a lawyer. Her blood alcohol content was measured at .23, nearly three times the legal limit for driving in Minnesota.

According to a police report, a teacher at the school told officers she passed Belanger in the hallway when she dropped the two kids off. Belanger had slurred speech, was disoriented and confused after she couldn't find her son's teacher. She also couldn't remember the teacher's name and was yelling at her two sons because she thought they had forgotten something. The teacher believed Belanger was intoxicated.

Belanger was eventually transported to the Hennepin County Jail.