MN Lawmaker Charged After DWI Crash Injures Man In Parked Truck

STEARNS COUNTY, MN — A 36-year-old state lawmaker from St. Cloud is charged with criminal vehicular operation and DWI after prosecutors say he crashed into a parked pickup Wednesday night, injuring the man who had just gotten behind the wheel.

DFL Rep. Dan Wolgamott was charged Friday in Stearns County District Court with two gross misdemeanors: criminal vehicular operation causing bodily harm while under the influence of alcohol, and third-degree driving while impaired.

Each count carries up to 364 days in jail and a $3,000 fine, according to the complaint.

St. Cloud police were sent to a crash on 13th Street North around 7:49 p.m. Nov. 11, the complaint says. The responding officer found a white Lincoln Nautilus stopped in the street with its hazard lights on, along with debris, skid marks and damage to the Lincoln and a red Ford pickup.

Wolgamott was standing near the pickup and began walking away as the officer approached, according to the complaint.

The officer told him to stop and identified him. The pickup's owner then came out of a nearby home and told police he had just climbed into his parked truck when Wolgamott hit it.

The officer smelled alcohol on Wolgamott and noticed his speech was slurred, the complaint says. He was slow to answer questions or didn't answer at all, and when asked about the crash, he repeatedly said he "wanted to go home," charges say.

Wolgamott showed more signs of impairment during field sobriety testing and refused a preliminary breath test, according to the complaint. He was arrested and taken to St. Cloud Hospital, where police drew his blood under a search warrant. Those results are still pending.

The man in the pickup later told officers he had neck stiffness, blurry vision, headaches and dizziness. He was seen at Little Falls Hospital and was believed to have a mild concussion, the complaint says.

The DWI count is charged at the third-degree level because of an aggravating factor: Wolgamott's Sept. 6, 2023, DWI conviction in Kanabec County.

That case stemmed from a July 2023 traffic stop near Mora. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor DWI count and received a 45-day jail sentence that was stayed for two years.

At Wolgamott's first court appearance Friday, Judge Matthew Engelking set bail at $12,000 with no conditions, or release without bail if he follows a list of conditions. Those include no alcohol use, alcohol monitoring and pretrial supervision, court records show.

Wolgamott has served in the Minnesota House since 2019. He did not seek reelection this year and instead ran for state auditor, but he did not win the DFL nomination. His term ends in January.