Woman Arrested For Drunk Driving After Crashing In Ham Lake
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 34-year-old woman is accused of driving drunk after crashing into a ditch Friday night in Ham Lake, according to charges filed in Anoka County Court.
Katharine Marie Luedtke of Blaine was charged with two counts of first-degree driving while impaired in connection with the incident.
According to the charges, Anoka County sheriff's deputies responded at about 10 p.m. last Friday to a single-vehicle crash on the 14600 block of Lexington Avenue NE in Ham Lake. Deputies located a Saturn Ion that was damaged in multiple areas about 50 feet off the road in the ditch.
A woman, later identified as Luedtke, was standing near the crash without shoes. She was wearing a shirt that read, "Alcohol you later." She had an injury to the left side of her neck, consistent with driver's side seat belt damage.
The complaint states after initially telling authorities she wasn't driving, she admitted she was driving to pick up her mother at a gas station when the crash happened. A review of her driver's license status showed she had a canceled license. Authorities noticed a strong smell of alcohol on her. She admitted she had been drinking, and a preliminary breath test showed she had a blood alcohol content of .175, more than twice the legal limit for driving in Minnesota.
She was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, and the complaint states she became combative with a deputy, trying to kick the officer and removing her seat belt twice on the way to jail. She said she wanted an attorney, and the deputy asked her if she would submit to a breath test. She refused, saying, her "lawyer doesn't advocate for breath tests."
Luedtke's mother called authorities Saturday morning, saying she was the owner of the car and took it without her permission. When she hadn't returned that morning, she said she presumed her daughter had been arrested. She also said her daughter shouldn't be driving because of several psychiatric medications that she takes.
Katharine Luedtke has three previous convictions for DWI.
