State trooper escapes injury when squad struck
A state trooper narrowly escaped injury as he was enforcing a statewide crackdown on drunken drivers that led to more that 30 arrests.
The State Patrol says trooper Sam Catlin pulled over one suspected drunken driver only to have his patrol car sideswiped by a second impaired driver on Highway 52 near Rochester abound 3:15 a.m. Thursday.
Capt. Matthew Langer says another trooper chased and arrested the second driver, a 25-year-old Rochester woman who has a prior DWI conviction.
The two arrests were among 33 the patrol made during a statewide crackdown between 6 p.m. Wednesday and 10 a.m. Thursday. Numbers from other agencies weren't immediately available.
Langer says stepped up DWI patrols will continue statewide through the weekend.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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