Is Austin’s 3 DWI’s in 18 Minutes a Minnesota Record?

I got a call this morning asking about something that should not still be happening. They'd heard about a bunch of DWI stops...in a super short time. Turns out, the caller was correct, and it may be the saddest record you'll hear about this week.

I got in touch with Austin, MN Police Chief David McKichan and he confirmed the caller's story. Three DWIs in 18 minutes. Wow. 

We did release that at 1239am, 1244am, and 1257am this morning (8-19-19) our agency made 3 separate traffic stops which resulted in 3 DUI arrests. While it is not uncommon for us to make 3 arrests of this sort on a single shift (sometimes more) it is rare to see 3 with-in 18 minutes (especially on a Sunday night/Monday morning).

The Chief would like to remind everyone...find a different way to go when you've been drinking. A friend'll give you a ride, a cap, a designated driver, something. SOMETHING.

Last week I reported Minnesota was out of control on the DWIs.

We are close to 1,000 DWI's ahead of last year's total by this point in the year....That makes it over 17,000 for the year so far. Last year at this point we were at 16,061. (Read the whole story here).

In the name of all that is holy, please, find a way to NOT drive under the influence.