Elizabeth Renee Jacobson, 34, of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, was arrested on Tuesday for her third DWI.
On New Year’s Day in 2008, Jacobson struck and killed Deputy Joe Lopez’s wife, Maggie Lopez, when she collided with his squad car — driving on the wrong side of a local highway. She spent five years in prison for the alcohol-fueled killing.
On May 29 of this year, Jacobson showed up to a Trappers Bar and Grill happy hour in Lino Lakes, with her ten-year-old daughter in tow, and already quite drunk. Her blood-alcohol level was measured at a .20, and an open bottle of vodka was found underneath her seat.
On Tuesday she was released once more. But by 2:30 p.m., she was arrested after reports of someone driving erratically on a highway in Shoreview. Deputies pursued her for miles, finally stopping her flight with a pursuit intervention technique, also known as a PIT maneuver.
Ramsey County Undersheriff Jeff Ramacher was dismayed. “It’s frustrating to say the least. Obviously we went through a very traumatic experience as a department eleven years ago,” he said. “To see it now, someone you hoped would pay their dues and then going back to their same old ways,” he added, letting the thought hang in the air.
There was already a warrant issued for Jacobson’s arrest, even before her latest drunk driving escapade. After her second offense, she was put under “intensive supervision,” but still failed to show up for her mandated alcohol testing.
Thousands of people are killed in vehicle accidents every year, and nearly a third of those fatalities are due to drunk drivers. Driving while intoxicated ends dozens of lives every day. Unfortunately, Jacobson has yet to learn that lesson.
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