Saturday, April 28, 2007

Saint Paul, Minnesota Mayor Chris Coleman had a close encounter with a drunk driver Thursday evening when he was rear-ended. The car wasn’t traveling much faster than 10 miles per hour, but the driver registered with a 0.26 blood alcohol level, over twice the legal limit.

Mayor Coleman was traveling in a city vehicle and accompanied by a police escort when they stopped at a red light at Victoria and Summit Avenues. At approximately 8:40pm, it was struck by the vehicle of Abbie Raymond, a 22-year-old St. Paul student, who was arrested at the scene. She was booked into the Ramsey County Jail under gross misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated. Raymond is a student at the William Mitchell School of Law. She was traveling with a passenger, another woman in her early 20s who may have also been intoxicated. They had been coming from a nearby bar or restaurant.

“The mayor is pleased there were no injuries,” said Bob Hume, a spokesman for the mayor. Both vehicles suffered only minor damage.