{"id":72832,"date":"2026-11-11T11:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T17:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=72832"},"modified":"2026-11-10T10:09:39","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T16:09:39","slug":"laporte-man-faces-dwi-charge-after-crash-17-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/laporte-man-faces-dwi-charge-after-crash-17-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Laporte Man Faces DWI Charge After Crash, .17 Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAPORTE, MN \u2013 (trfnews.i234.me)<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 A Laporte man faces a gross misdemeanor DWI charge after allegedly crashing into a utility pole in Hubbard County.<\/p>\n

Kaeden River Lofthus, 25, of Laporte, is accused of third-degree driving while impaired following an October 29, 2026, crash.<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to a criminal complaint, investigators located Lofthus after discovering his abandoned vehicle in a roadside ditch.<\/p>\n

A later breath test reportedly showed an alcohol concentration of 0.17.<\/p>\n

Vehicle Found After Striking Utility Pole<\/h2>\n

At approximately 11:33 p.m., law enforcement responded to reports of vehicle debris along Hubbard County Road 16.<\/p>\n

The debris was located west of the intersection with County Road 36.<\/p>\n

Upon arrival, investigators discovered a vehicle that had struck an electric pole.<\/p>\n

The vehicle was resting in the south ditch, but its driver was missing.<\/p>\n

A registration check identified Lofthus as the vehicle’s owner.<\/p>\n

While the vehicle was being removed, investigators reportedly discovered a half-empty bottle of Fireball whiskey inside.<\/p>\n

Deputies Locate Driver at Residence<\/h2>\n

Investigators began searching for Lofthus at nearby family residences.<\/p>\n

They eventually located him at his father’s residence, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

While speaking with Lofthus, a deputy reportedly noticed an odor of alcohol, thickened speech, and glossy eyes.<\/p>\n

Lofthus allegedly acknowledged driving the vehicle that struck the utility pole.<\/p>\n

He reportedly said the crash occurred around 11 p.m. and that his father picked him up afterward.<\/p>\n

Initially, Lofthus said he had consumed two 16-ounce beers earlier that evening.<\/p>\n

He also initially reported that he had not consumed alcohol after the crash.<\/p>\n

Breath Tests Show .169 and .17 BAC<\/h2>\n

Investigators asked Lofthus to complete several field sobriety tests.<\/p>\n

The complaint states that he showed signs of impairment during an eye movement test.<\/p>\n

During a one-leg stand test, he allegedly struggled with balance and put his foot down.<\/p>\n

A preliminary breath test produced a reported alcohol concentration of 0.169.<\/p>\n

Lofthus was arrested on suspicion of impaired driving.<\/p>\n

He was transported to the Beltrami County Law Enforcement Center for additional testing.<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, an evidentiary breath test produced a final alcohol concentration of 0.17.<\/p>\n

Suspect Claims Whiskey Was Consumed After Crash<\/h2>\n

During the investigation, Lofthus provided additional statements about his alcohol consumption.<\/p>\n

He reportedly said he had consumed Fireball whiskey after the crash and before being handcuffed.<\/p>\n

During a later interview, he claimed he drank approximately 350 milliliters of whiskey after reaching a family residence.<\/p>\n

These statements differed from his earlier account of not drinking after the collision.<\/p>\n

The complaint does not establish how much alcohol, if any, Lofthus consumed before the crash.<\/p>\n

Gross Misdemeanor Charge Filed<\/h2>\n

Prosecutors charged Lofthus with third-degree DWI under Minnesota Statutes 169A.20 and 169A.26.<\/p>\n

The charge carries a maximum possible sentence of 364 days in jail, a $3,000 fine, or both.<\/p>\n

The case was filed in Hubbard County District Court under case number 29-CR-26-1015.<\/p>\n

Additional information about the law is available through the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Public case information can be searched through Minnesota Court Records Online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lofthus is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m Adrian Cole reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A Laporte man faces a gross misdemeanor DWI charge after allegedly crashing into a utility pole in Hubbard County.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kaeden River Lofthus of Laporte faces a third-degree DWI charge after a crash into a utility pole in Hubbard County. A breath test later showed .17 BAC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72833,"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":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"","timeOption":"","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":""},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[1212,883,7661],"trf_mt_town":[],"trf_mt_county":[29530],"trf_mt_topic":[29494,29493],"trf_mt_series":[],"class_list":["post-72832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-beltrami-county","tag-dwi","tag-traffic-crash"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72832","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=72832"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72834,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72832\/revisions\/72834"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72832"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_town","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_town?post=72832"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_county","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_county?post=72832"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_topic?post=72832"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_series?post=72832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}