Nov 6, 2008 10:56 pm US/Central
Man Victim Of Hit-And-Run By Local TV Reporter
(WCCO)
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Fox 9 News Reporter Beth McDonough, with KMSP Television in the Twin Cities, was allegedly driving drunk with a .24 alcohol concentration in the early morning of Nov. 1, 2008.
Hennepin County
A Minnesota man said he's thankful he didn't get badly hurt when a convicted drunken driver slammed into him on a Twin Cities freeway. He thinks she was going 80 miles an hour.
"I'm really lucky," said Andy Lange.
The biggest scare for him on Halloween night had nothing to do with his friend's Halloween party. It happened while he was alone, driving down Interstate 394.
"Completely out of the blue, completely out of the blue. Just bam was the next thing. I was just shocked," he said, as he described what happened.
It was a near direct shot on the car he was driving, and a near direct shot on his life, he said. Lange was hit from behind, on the far right side, just before 1 a.m. Saturday.
"She came past me on the right side and I saw the front of her Saab was really mangled. You could tell it had just been in an accident. She kind of slowed down but kept going. A little swerving, but kept going. Didn't pull over. That's when I called 911," he said.
A woman, known for tracking people down as part of her job, was the one a Minnesota State Patrol Trooper was now looking for in Minnetonka.
Fox 9 News Reporter Beth McDonough, with KMSP Television in the Twin Cities, was allegedly driving drunk with a .24 alcohol concentration.
That trooper observed signs of intoxication when he stopped her. The criminal complaint said McDonough had slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and a strong odor of alcohol.
According to the complaint, "The defendant kept falling and using her vehicle to keep herself upright."
McDonough was convicted of third-degree driving while under the Influence in October 2007 for an offense that happened in August 2007. Her license was revoked in December of 2007, but her attorney Tony Spector said her driving privileges were reinstated in June of 2008. He said she had a license to be driving last weekend.
"This is an unfortunate set of events, and Ms. McDonough requests her privacy," Spector said.
Fox 9 Television has suspended her, and management is investigating the matter. She faces four charges, including driving while impaired, which is a gross misdemeanor.
"I feel bad for her," Lange said, who happens to be an insurance agent. He said he's not angry and that he's seen accidents much worse than his, caused by people drinking and driving.
Lange just happened to be on his way to a church gathering last Saturday and feels God was watching over him.
"Things could have been completely different. I just feel like I have so much to be thankful for the way that it turned out," he said.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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