Minneapolis woman convicted in fatal 2020 crash arrested for another DWI
Police investigate a fatal crash in July 2020 (FOX 9).
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - A woman convicted of criminal vehicular homicide in a 2020 crash that killed her passenger has been arrested again and charged this week in another drunk driving incident.
Catherine Ann Taylor-Martinson, 23, of Minneapolis, is charged with driving under the influence and refusing to submit to a chemical breath test after being arrested by a Minnesota State Patrol (MSP) trooper who said she tried to force a motorcycle off the road.
July 28 DWI arrest
Taylor-Martinson was arrested after a traffic stop just after 3 p.m. on Sunday.
The trooper reportedly saw a black Jeep and a motorcycle speeding north on Interstate 35 in Bloomington. The trooper estimated they were both going faster than 100 mph in a 65 mph zone and saw them both "passing other traffic very quickly."
The complaint states the trooper then witnessed the Jeep jerk to the left next to the motorcycle in what seemed to be an effort to "force the motorcycle off the road."
Inside her Jeep
During the traffic stop, the trooper reportedly smelled marijuana and noticed a bottle of promethazine, which is an antihistamine commonly used to treat allergies and motion sickness. There were also bottles of Sprite inside the Jeep, which the trooper noted could be mixed to create a recreational drug referred to as "purple drank."
The trooper also noticed Taylor-Martinson "appeared disheveled with watery eyes" and administered a preliminary breath test (PBT) that showed she had a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of .219.
After being arrested and taken to Hennepin County Jail, Taylor-Martinson refused to take another breath test, which resulted in the DWI refusal charge.
Court records show this latest incident led to a probation violation report being filed in her criminal vehicular homicide case.
She is currently in custody at Hennepin County Jail as of Thursday afternoon. Court documents show her next appearance is set for the morning of Aug. 26.
2020 criminal vehicular homicide conviction
Court records show Taylor-Martinson served less than a year in prison for the death of a passenger who was thrown from a vehicle she was driving when it struck multiple parked cars.
Part of her sentencing included supervised probation that was set to last until July 18, 2025.
The crash happened just after 8 p.m. on July 13 near the intersection of 40th Avenue and Emerson Avenue North in Minneapolis.
Minneapolis police responded to a report that a Dodge Durango crashed into multiple vehicles and that an unconscious woman was lying on the road and not breathing. Paramedics pronounced the woman dead at the scene.
Data recovered from the Durango shows the vehicle was going 50 mph when airbags deployed, according to the criminal complaint.
Taylor-Martinson was found to have a BAC of .153 at the time of the crash, based on a blood test taken at the hospital.
Witnesses describe the fatal crash
One of the people in the Durango told police she was the front-seat passenger at the time of the crash. She recounted that the woman who died was the driver before saying she wanted to ride on top while Taylor-Martinson drove. Taylor-Martinson then got into the driver's seat despite the passenger's objections. The passenger said she was holding onto the woman's legs while her upper torso was hanging out of the window of the Durango.
The passenger reported pleading with the woman to get back in the Durango while telling Taylor-Martinson to slow down. The passenger said that she was still holding onto the woman before she was "ripped from her arms" when the Durango crashed, according to the criminal complaint.
Another witness, a man who lived on Dupont Avenue, told police that he saw the Durango speeding down the block earlier in the night.
He also said the woman who would later be ejected was originally driving the Durango before it stopped and Taylor-Martinson got into the driver's seat. The original driver then climbed onto the roof of the Durango, then onto the hood before trying to climb in through the window.
The witness said he then lost sight of the Durango right before hearing loud noises. He then ran to the scene of the crash and saw the woman on the ground.
The complaint states that witnesses also told police they saw Taylor-Martinson get an open bottle of Hennessy from the Durango and throw it into a nearby dumpster.