Convicted driver in previous deadly accident accused of being intoxicated in new crash
Convicted drunk driver facing new charges
A woman who was once convicted for killing someone while behind the wheel of her car is facing new charges for a crash where alcohol may have been involved.
(FOX 9) - It's been 4 years since Rich Lovdal lost his brother Kevin to a drunk driver.
Now the person responsible for his brother's death is accused of causing another crash while being intoxicated behind the wheel.
"Emotionally it was surprising, but not surprising," Lovdal told FOX 9. Back in March of 2018, a car crossed the centerline on Viking Boulevard in Linwood Township, crashing head-on into Kevin's van, killing him and severely injuring his wife.
Prosecutors say the driver of that car, Lynn Filla, was also injured in the crash.
She had a blood alcohol concentration of .216, nearly three-times the legal limit to drive.
"Losing him was horrible. It's hard to put into words because we were so close and in an instant he's gone," said Oval.
Filla pled guilty to criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation.
Rich Lovdal
She received a staggered sentence of 10 years probation, as well as six 60-day stints in jail, beginning every March.
But over the weekend, police say she ran a stop sign and crashed into another car in Lindstrom before trying to leave the scene, until a witness stopped her with his vehicle and other witnesses held her until police arrived.
Police say the two people in the car she hit received non-life threatening injuries.
Prosecutors say this time her blood alcohol concentration was .169, more than twice the legal limit to drive.
"We as a family agreed to the plea bargain with the hope that she would turn her life around. That was our hope and it doesn't seem to have happened," said Lovdal.
It's been 4 years since Rich Lovdal lost his brother Kevin to a drunk driver., but now the person responsible for his brother's death is accused of causing another crash while being intoxicated behind the wheel.
Lovdal says Filla's most recent accident brings back the pain of losing his brother, but it also reminds him Kevin lives on in the hearts and minds of those who loved him.
"Sadness for sure, but joy too in remembering who Kevin was," said Lovdal.
Filla is charged with one count of criminal vehicular operation.
She is being held in the Chisago County Jail on $12,000 bail.