{"id":16746,"date":"2026-02-05T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=16746"},"modified":"2026-02-05T05:54:38","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T11:54:38","slug":"ada-man-charged-after-206-bac-head-on-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/ada-man-charged-after-206-bac-head-on-crash\/","title":{"rendered":"Ada Man Charged After .206 BAC Head-On Crash"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Norman County<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) An Ada man faces four charges after a head-on crash, court records allege.<\/p>\n<p>Michael William Wickern, 68, of Ada, is charged with two gross misdemeanors and two misdemeanors.<\/p>\n<h2>Charges filed<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Gross misdemeanor DWI: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.revisor.mn.gov\/statutes\/cite\/169A.20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minn. Stat. 169A.20<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Gross misdemeanor criminal vehicular operation, bodily harm, alcohol: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.revisor.mn.gov\/statutes\/cite\/609.2113\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minn. Stat. 609.2113<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Misdemeanor reckless driving: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.revisor.mn.gov\/statutes\/cite\/169.13\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minn. Stat. 169.13<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Misdemeanor open bottle law: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.revisor.mn.gov\/statutes\/cite\/169A.35\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minn. Stat. 169A.35<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What investigators allege<\/h2>\n<p>The crash happened on January 3, 2026, near County Road 35 and Minnesota Highway 9, in Norman County.<\/p>\n<p>Deputies reported two vehicles had heavy damage after the impact.<\/p>\n<p>A witness reported a half-empty bottle of Black Velvet whiskey in the Jeep after the crash.<\/p>\n<p>Investigators said the bottle appeared open and within reach of the driver.<\/p>\n<p>The other driver, listed as Victim 1 in the complaint, said the Jeep approached at a high speed.<\/p>\n<p>Victim 1 said the Jeep slid and hit her vehicle head-on.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint said Victim 1 was wearing a seat belt.<\/p>\n<p>Victim 1 reported abdominal pain and went to a regional hospital by ambulance.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_16756\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16756\" style=\"width: 353px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-16756\" src=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ada-Man-Charged-After-.206-BAC-Head-On-Crash-300x200.png\" alt=\"Ada Man Charged After .206 BAC Head-On Crash\" width=\"353\" height=\"235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ada-Man-Charged-After-.206-BAC-Head-On-Crash-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ada-Man-Charged-After-.206-BAC-Head-On-Crash-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ada-Man-Charged-After-.206-BAC-Head-On-Crash-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ada-Man-Charged-After-.206-BAC-Head-On-Crash.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 353px) 100vw, 353px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-16756\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ada Man Charged After .206 BAC Head-On Crash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Test results<\/h2>\n<p>Investigators obtained a blood sample after the crash, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n<p>Lab results showed Wickern had a .206 blood alcohol level.<\/p>\n<p>That is more than twice the 0.08 limit for most drivers in Minnesota.<\/p>\n<p>Learn more from the state here: <a href=\"https:\/\/dps.mn.gov\/divisions\/ots\/safe-driving-information-and-laws\/traffic-safety-laws\/impaired-driving-laws\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minnesota DPS impaired driving laws<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Statement in the complaint<\/h2>\n<p>The complaint said Wickern told deputies he had drunk earlier while taking his dog out.<\/p>\n<p>He said he lost control in a corner and caused the crash, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n<p>He also told deputies the crash was his fault, the complaint said.<\/p>\n<h2>Court timeline<\/h2>\n<p>Wickern was charged by summons, according to court records.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint and summons were approved on January 27, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The case was filed in court on January 29, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>A gross misdemeanor can carry up to one year in jail and a $3,000 fine.<\/p>\n<p>See the state definition here: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.revisor.mn.gov\/statutes\/cite\/609.02\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minn. Stat. 609.02<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Related resources<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.co.norman.mn.us\/departments\/sheriff_s_office.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Norman County Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.revisor.mn.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minnesota Revisor of Statutes<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Note to readers<\/h2>\n<p>Charges are allegations and are not proof of guilt.<\/p>\n<p>A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m Chris Harper reporting for <a href=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Norman County (trfnews.i234.me) An Ada man faces four charges after a head-on crash, court records allege. Michael William Wickern, 68, of Ada, is charged with two gross misdemeanors and two misdemeanors. Charges filed Gross misdemeanor DWI: Minn. Stat. 169A.20 Gross misdemeanor criminal vehicular operation, bodily harm, alcohol: Minn. Stat. 609.2113 Misdemeanor reckless driving: Minn. Stat.&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/ada-man-charged-after-206-bac-head-on-crash\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Ada Man Charged After .206 BAC Head-On Crash<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[12492,12467,8862,10250,346,7282,12468,770,12469,998,772,7410,10077,883,5968,6496,151,12470,1304,8863,11693,12466],"class_list":["post-16746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-12492","tag-206-bac","tag-ada","tag-ada-mn","tag-after","tag-bac","tag-black-velvet-whiskey","tag-charged","tag-county-road-35","tag-crash","tag-crime","tag-criminal-vehicular-operation","tag-driving-while-impaired","tag-dwi","tag-head-on","tag-jeep-renegade","tag-man","tag-minnesota-highway-9","tag-minnesota-statutes","tag-norman-county","tag-open-bottle-law","tag-reckless-driving","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16746"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16757,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16746\/revisions\/16757"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}