A Duluth woman accused of driving drunk and hitting two schoolchildren in a crosswalk with her minivan in October was acquitted of all six charges against her on Wednesday in St. Louis County District Court.
Elizabeth Liabraaten, 43, was driving a Dodge Caravan on Third Street at 25th Avenue West when she hit the children, who were crossing Third Street on their way to Lincoln Park Elementary School. The children, a 6-year old boy and an 8-year-old girl, siblings from Duluth, were taken to St. Luke's hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries and released.
Liabraaten was charged with six gross misdemeanors relating to criminal vehicular operation, including driving with a blood-alcohol content above 0.08 percent, having a blood-alcohol content of above 0.08 within two hours of driving and for driving under the influence. Police said a breath test indicated that Liabraaten had a blood alcohol content of 0.13 percent, more than 1½ times the legal limit to drive.
Jill Eichenwald, a 6th Judicial District public defender in Duluth, represented Liabraaten. Eichenwald told jurors that the accident was unavoidable and was not caused by her client driving drunk.
"The kids came from behind the bus. She hit the brakes as soon as she saw them and she wasn't able to get the vehicle stopped before she hit the kids," Eichenwald said when reached by phone after the verdict.
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Eichenwald said Liabraaten didn't think she was driving impaired at the time of the accident, reported at 7:42 a.m. Oct. 5. "The jury apparently didn't believe that the machine accurately portrayed her blood-alcohol content," Eichenwald said.
Jurors heard about four hours of testimony and deliberated about 3½ hours before returning a verdict. "We had a good jury," Eichenwald said. "They paid attention. They listened. They deliberated hard ... They really did their homework in analyzing the evidence."
Eichenwald said the children injured in the accident sustained abrasions, scrapes and bruises and some residual pain, but were able to get up from the ground and run to the sidewalk before an ambulance arrived.
St. Louis County prosecutor Paul Shaffer couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday night.
MARK STODGHILL covers public safety and courts. He can be reached weekdays at (218) 723-5333 or by e-mail at mstodghill@duluthnews.com .
