Woman Drove Drunk, Hit Tree Off I-35E With Baby Unbuckled: Police

RAMSEY COUNTY, MN — A Richfield woman is facing a slew of charges after crashing her car in northern Ramsey County back in January, severely injuring her baby. Police say on Jan. 19, Phethile Kunene, 40, drove drunk on Interstate 35E with her baby unbuckled before driving into a tree.

Kunene did not attach her seven-month-old baby's carseat to the vehicle, nor did she strap the child into the carseat, according to authorities. The baby suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result, the criminal complaint states.

On Aug. 27, Kunene was charged with child endangerment, two counts of criminal vehicular operation and a DWI.

On Jan. 19, just before 6 p.m., Kunene was driving herself and the baby on northbound Interstate 35E near County Road 10. Over a span of 10 minutes, witnesses saw her swerving between lanes and between road cones while going well above the speed limit, according to investigators.

Kunene then rear-ended another car before she drove up an embankment and slammed into a tree next to the freeway sound barrier. Officers found Kunene pinned in the car, and later heard a baby's cries from the floor under the driver's seat. The baby had a large cut on her forehead and was bleeding "profusely," police said.

Kunene told the Minnesota State Patrol she had no idea how or why she was driving in northern Ramsey County, police said. Investigators found her blood alcohol count was 0.178, more than twice the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle in Minnesota.