Charges: Woman three times legal limit nearly hits cop car in Brooklyn Park
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (KMSP) - A Coon Rapids, Minnesota woman has been charged with two counts of driving under the influence after she nearly hit a police car in Brooklyn Park and crashed into an electrical pole on New Year’s Day. She was more than three times the legal limit.
Mirtha Cepero, 32, caught a police officer’s attention when she was driving erratically on Zane Avenue in Brooklyn Park around 1:30 a.m., according to the criminal complaint. Cepero had just gotten her driver's license in July.
According to the complaint, Cepero was speeding, driving over the curb, and nearly hit the police car before crashing into an electrical pole. When the officer pulled her over, Cepero and two children – ages 10 and 11 – got out of the car.
He detected a strong odor of alcohol and noticed Cepero “stumbling down the sidewalk, requiring assistance from the two young males to keep her balance.”
At this point, both children were extremely upset and crying.
According to the complaint, one of the boys said they were at a bowling alley where Cepero was drinking at the bar. Neither boy wanted to get in the car due to her condition.
As they left the bowling alley, she nearly hit a truck, ran red lights, hit curbs and was driving on the wrong side of the road.
Cepero admitted to the officer that she had been out “‘partying,’” but she refused to provide a breath test. She did, however, “poorly” perform field sobriety tests.
She asked the officer, “‘You know I’m [expletive] up though. I don’t know why we’re doing this.’”
Cepero was then arrested and fell asleep in the back of the squad car. The officer, who was concerned for her well-being, took her to the hospital, where staff said they needed to give her medication.
The officer asked that a blood sample be drawn, and it revealed an alcohol concentration of .279.