Charges: Woman 2 times over legal drinking limit with kids in the car

A Rochester woman was charged after being arrested for driving drunk with her children in the car.

Katy Wimes, 36, is facing a slew of charges, including for DWI, driving with a revoked license, and felony child endangerment. According to the charges, Wimes was more than two times over the limit when she was stopped by police with her two children in the car, the youngest being nine.

A Rochester police officer got a "hit" on his automatic license plate reader around 10:22 p.m. Tuesday, which showed the car's registered owner, later discovered to be Wimes, had a revoked driving status.

After observing her turn into a business parking lot on Broadway Avenue North in Rochester, the officer waited along a side street. However, he saw her exit the business's parking lot at a "visually estimated high rate of speed" and could hear the vehicle's gears quickly shifting.

According to the charges, Wimes drove over the center line several times as the officer pursued her. She eventually pulled over around the 1600 block of Broadway Avenue North.

When the officer got out to speak with Wimes, he allegedly noticed that her eyes were bloodshot and watery and that her breath smelled of alcohol. She told the officer that she had two or three drinks hours before.

After failing a field sobriety test, an initial breath sample was taken at the scene. Although she intentionally provided a weak sample, it still gave a reading of .157, above Minnesota's limit of 0.08.

The officer took Wimes into custody, and a family member arrived to pick up the children. At jail another test was performed and showed her blood alcohol concentration to be .20, more than two times over the legal limit.

She had been convicted of a DWI in August after being arrested in April 2023 for drunk driving. Those court documents also state that while searching Wimes, officers found fentanyl pills in her bra.

Her first court appearance will be on Nov. 19 at 9 a.m.