Minnesota lawmaker busted for drunk driving for the second time in three years

Detailed summary

Minnesota Rep. Daniel Wolgamott faced drunk driving charges for the second time in three years after allegedly crashing into a parked car and trying to flee the scene on foot.

A Minnesota state legislator has been arrested for drunk driving for the second time in three years after allegedly slamming into a parked car, injuring the occupant.

Daniel Wolgamott, 36, of the state’s left-wing Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, was allegedly drunk behind the wheel of a car that slammed into a stationary vehicle in St. Cloud Wednesday evening, according to The Minnesota Star Tribune.

Cops arrived to find the lefty lawmaker walking away from the crash, which left someone in the hit vehicle needing treatment in a hospital for noncritical injuries, according to the report.

Wolgamott “had poor balance, bloodshot eyes and glossy eyes,” a police filing reportedly read. “While speaking with [Wolgamott], he had slurred speech and was having difficulty formulating full sentences. [He] also showed multiple signs of impairment during field sobriety test.”

Wolgamott was charged with criminal vehicular operation, bodily harm and driving while under the influence of alcohol and held without bail, according to the report.

Wolgamott was previously convicted of misdemeanor drunken driving in 2023 when cops pulled him over after following up on a tip of a man drinking in a liquor store parking lot, the outlet said.

Wolgamott said at the time that he had undergone professional testing and received “an assessment that I do not have an alcohol-use disorder,” the Minnesota Reformer said.

The outgoing lawmaker had reportedly declined to seek a fifth term in the state House this year, instead opting to run for state auditor — a bid he lost to a fellow DFL member.

The DFL Party is an arm of the national Democratic Party in the North Star State.

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