A northwestern Minnesota woman allegedly blamed her dog for a crash involving her pickup truck that killed an 82-year-old woman late last month, prosecutors said.
According to Roseau County Sheriff’s Office online booking records, Shauna Rae Dokken, 43, of Roseau, was arrested by a trooper from the Minnesota State Patrol. She was charged with criminal vehicular homicide-operating a motor vehicle in a grossly negligent manner.
Dokken was also charged with two felony counts of driving while impaired -- one for being under the influence of a controlled substance, and the other for DWI within 10 years of three or more qualified prior impaired driving incidents.
The crash happened around 4 p.m. CT on May 29, in Spruce Township, which is approximately five miles east of of Roseau, the Grand Forks Herald reported. According to a criminal complaint filed in Roseau County District Court, Dokken’s 2000 Ford F-250 pickup crossed the center line of State Highway 11 and struck a 2013 Kia Sorento SUV head-on, according to KVLY.
The driver of the Sorento, Barbara Lee Welberg, 82, of Baudette, was pronounced dead at the scene, KVLY reported. Dokken was transported to an area hospital with injuries that were not considered to be life-threatening.
A state trooper noted that Dokken’s speech was slurred when he spoke with her at the hospital, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
“Dokken described her dog distracting her, and the dog twisted the steering wheel and caused the vehicle to spin out of control,” the criminal complaint stated.
According to the criminal complaint, several witnesses told the state trooper that Dokken was driving her pickup truck east and was swerving. They added that she was traveling on the wrong side of the highway before the collision with Welberg’s westbound vehicle.
A preliminary breath test after the crash detected no alcohol in Dokken’s system, the Star Tribune reported. She told authorities that she had taken three prescription medications that day to treat anxiety and ADHD.
At the time of the crash, Dokken was on probation after a conviction for driving while under the influence of drugs in May 2025, the Star Tribune reported.
According to the newspaper, her driving history includes one conviction each for drunken driving, speeding, careless driving and a stop sign violation, and two for driving after her license was revoked.
If convicted of the vehicular homicide charge, Dokken faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, KVLY reported.
Dokken remains in jail, with her bail set at $200,000, the Star Tribune reported. She is scheduled to appear in court again on June 10, online records show.
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