Florida Woman Charged in 2023 Rochester-Area Injury Crash

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- The Olmsted County Attorney’s Office has charged a former Zumbrota woman accused of being intoxicated and causing an injury crash last fall.

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The criminal complaint, filed Friday in Olmsted County Court, says the crash occurred on Oct. 28. It happened along Hwy. 52 shortly before 3 a.m.

The State Patrol crash report says a car traveling north on Hwy. 52 near Chatfield left the roadway and crashed into the ditch. A passenger in the vehicle, identified as 22-year-old Celina Sheda of Stewartville, was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester for treatment of what the complaint describes as a back injury.

The driver was identified as 21-year-old Taylor Renee Benson, who now has a Florida address. She suffered apparent minor injuries.

The criminal complaint says a passing motorist alerted the State Patrol to the crash and pulled Benson and Sheda out of the vehicle. Benson told the trooper she and Sheda had been drinking at a local bar and were heading towards Stewartville.

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Based on the report of consumption and nature of the crash, the trooper ran Benson through field sobriety tests that resulted in six impairment indicators, the complaint says.

Justin Sullivan

Benson was unable to complete additional tests due to injuries suffered in the crash and was taken to the Olmsted County Jail where law enforcement drew a sample of her blood after obtaining a warrant.

The complaint says the sample returned a result that measured Benson’s blood alcohol concentration at 0.167, which is more than twice the legal limit, the complaint says.

Benson complaint. Olmsted County Court

Benson was charged Friday with two counts of gross misdemeanor criminal vehicular operation and two counts of gross misdemeanor DWI. She’s due to make her first court appearance in the case in March.