Shoreview woman accused of drunk driving in Florida and seriously injuring deputy

A Minnesota woman was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in the Florida Keys after hitting a deputy’s cruiser while he was at a traffic stop Tuesday night, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office says.

The crash happened around 11 p.m. near Mile Marker 87 on U.S. 1 in the Florida Keys. The 26-year-old deputy was walking between his car and another vehicle he had stopped when 26-year-old Alexandra Marlene Baraga of Shoreview hit the deputy’s cruiser, pinning him between the vehicles, a news release says.

The deputy was airlifted to a hospital in Miami with serious injuries after responding deputies helped free him.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office says that Baraga had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.310 — nearly four times the legal limit. She was arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol and taken to the Monroe County jail.

“This a difficult day for everyone at the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. One of our brave Deputies has been seriously injured in the line of duty because of the thoughtless actions of a drunk driver,” Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay said in a statement. “For the cost of a taxi or rideshare, she jeopardized the lives of everyone on the road.”

Baraga has not been formally charged yet, but her arraignment is set for April 23 at 9 a.m. Her bond is set at $95,000.

ABC affiliate WPLG-TV obtained exclusive dash camera video of the incident from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office that you can view here.