A Wisconsin man was charged with drunken driving for the 19th time after being stopped going the wrong way on Interstate 35 in Carlton County.
The Minnesota State Patrol arrested Daniel Thomas Hanson, 58, of New Richmond, Wisconsin, on Aug. 28 after he was found traveling northbound in the southbound lane of I-35 in Carlton County, according to the criminal complaint.
After being stopped by law enforcement, state troopers approached Hanson’s vehicle and noticed a quarter of a bottle of vodka next to him. The officers demanded Hanson hand over the keys to the vehicle and noticed he had bloodshot, watery eyes and slurred speech, the complaint said.
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Hanson admitted to consuming alcohol that day and troopers asked him to step out of the vehicle for standardized field sobriety tests. They also conducted a preliminary breath test on Hanson revealing a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.238 — nearly three times the legal limit.
After he was transported to the Carlton County Law Enforcement Center, Hanson consented to a second breath test that revealed a 0.18 blood-alcohol level.
Court records show Hanson has been convicted of 10 DWIs in Minnesota. He also has eight convictions for operating a vehicle while intoxicated in Wisconsin, including a felony OWI in 2016 in St. Croix County, Wisconsin.
Hanson's license was canceled at the time of his arrest Aug. 28 and he was required to have an interlock device activated on any vehicle he drives; his vehicle did not have one.
He faces two felony counts of DWI; each carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison and a $7,000 fine. He also faces a gross misdemeanor and two misdemeanor charges.
Hanson is being held at the Carlton County Jail in Carlton on $100,000 bail.
This story was updated at 10:41 a.m. on Sept. 17 with a new headline reflecting the correct number of DWI convictions. The Pine Journal regrets the error.
