A Minnesota legislator is again facing drunken-driving charges after a crash in St. Cloud.
Daniel Wolgamott, 36, a member 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. It was his second drunken-driving case in three years, the New York Post reported, citing the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Officers arrived to find the lawmaker walking away from the crash, according to the report. The person in the hit vehicle was taken to a hospital for injuries described as noncritical.
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."
He was charged with criminal vehicular operation, bodily harm and driving while under the influence of alcohol, and was held without bail, according to the report. Wolgamott was previously convicted of misdemeanor drunken driving in 2023 after officers pulled him over following a tip about 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 reported. The outgoing lawmaker had declined to seek a fifth term in the state House this year and instead ran 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. Wolgamott did not respond to multiple requests for comment, the Reformer said.
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