Son dies in crash; mom is charged

A 3-year-old boy died Sunday in Cloquet, the result of a crash that left a car split in half.

The Cloquet police responded to the single- vehicle crash on the 1500 block of White Pine Trail at approximately 4:30 p.m. Sunday — they found a 2004 Chevy Impala on each side of the road. Reports indicate that the vehicle left the rural Cloquet roadway and struck a tree. Another child, a 5-year-old girl, was also in the car but was not seriously injured. Both children appeared to have been in car seats.

The driver and mother of both children, Misty Louise Mattinas, 26, of Onamia, Minnesota faces numerous charges relating to the crash and was arrested Sunday after being taken to the hospital and released.

Mattinas was charged in Sixth District Carlton County Court Tuesday with felony criminal vehicular homicide, and felony and gross misdemeanor charges for endangerment of a child. She was also charged with criminal vehicular operation-bodily harm, a gross misdemeanor, open bottle law violation, and driving after revocation, both misdemeanors.

According to the criminal complaint:

When multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the accident scene, they found the car on both sides of White Pine Trail near Spring Lake Road, and Mattinas holding the child, who was dead. A witness who was not involved with the crash was standing on the roadway holding another child, a 5-year-old girl, who was transported to a hospital. She was in stable condition, but had facial injuries and cuts and abrasions.

Another witness at the scene stated she was eastbound on White Pine Trail when she saw the Impala pass her traveling at a very high rate of speed, well beyond the 30 mph speed limit. She continued driving and came upon the car crash.

Officers alleged they could smell a strong odor of alcohol coming from inside the vehicle; they also located multiple empty bottles of alcohol in and around the vehicle. They also alleged that Mattinas smelled strongly of alcohol.

At the hospital, according to the criminal complaint, Mattinas told law enforcement she had been using and was distracted by her GPS at the time of the crash. She also allegedly admitted she had consumed cough syrup earlier and had been drinking Fireball whiskey, which was one of the bottles found at the scene.

After she was booked into the jail, Mattinas allegedly told law enforcement that she had cough syrup in Brainerd, then drove to a relative’s house in Cloquet, consuming a large can of Twisted Tea — an alcoholic iced tea beverage — along the way. She allegedly said she regularly drinks while driving and places the empty bottles under her seat because she is not allowed to drink at her mother’s house, and admitted that she struggles with alcohol.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Judge Rebekka Stumme ordered a chemical dependency evaluation and granted a public defender. Bail was set at $10,000. An omnibus hearing in the case is set for Dec. 21 in front of Judge Dale Wolf.

The maximum sentence for criminal vehicular homicide is 10 years or $20,000 or both.