Lawnmower Driver Faces 9th DWI Charge In Minnesota

BLUE EARTH COUNTY, MN — A Minnesota man with eight previous DWI offenses was arrested for his ninth last month while he was driving a riding lawnmower. Thomas Edward Grothe, 60, was observed "driving in an erratic manner" in a lawnmower on the streets of Madison Lake, Minnesota, July 20, according to the criminal complaint filed in the case.

A police officer reported seeing Grothe complete a sharp left-hand turn onto Maple Avenue, where he began driving in the wrong lane. Grothe had trouble with his balance and smelled of alcohol, according to the criminal complaint.

Grothe was administered a portable blood-alcohol breath test and blew a 0.28, more than three times the legal limit in Minnesota. He also told police he has not had a driver's license since 1978. A computer check of his driver's license indicated that it was cancelled as "inimical to public safety," according to the complaint.

Grothe faces two DWI-related charges and one charge for driving with a suspended license. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Minnesota Patch, click here to find your local Minnesota Patch. Also, follow us on Facebook , and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Laws on driving a lawnmower while impaired

In Minnesota, it is a crime to operate any motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or more. "Motor vehicle" is defined as every vehicle that is "self-propelled and every vehicle that is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires." The term does not include a vehicle moved solely by human power.

Photo by Charles & Hudson via Flickr Commons