Woman cited after St. Paul fire station smash

On Behalf of | Oct 22, 2014 | Minnesota News |

A 36-year-old woman who crashed into a fire station in St. Paul on Friday night has been cited for driving while impaired.

Although the station at West Seventh Street and Randolph Avenue was damaged, nobody was injured in the incident.

Angela Montoya of St. Paul told police she was driving west on Seventh Street about 9:30 pm when a vehicle came at her from Randolph Avenue, said Sgt. Paul Paulos, a St. Paul police spokesman.

Montoya reported that people were sitting outside to the right, so she swerved to the left and crashed her sport utility vehicle into the west side of Fire Station No. 1 at 1000 W. Seventh St.

Montoya posted a photo of the crash scene on Facebook soon after it happened, writing, “My current situation!! (Expletive) cut me off!” She said Monday that was the main reason for the crash.

She also wrote that she was travelling within the speed limit when someone drove head-on at her — Montoya said the driver was going so fast, she didn’t have time to get his license plate number.

Montoya also posted that she swerved, going to the left to avoid the people outside Shamrock’s Bar on West Seventh Street to her right.

Police arrested Montoya on suspicion of misdemeanor DWI and her blood-alcohol concentration was 0.18, according to an Intoxilyzer breath test – more than twice the 0.08 legal limit to drive in Minnesota.

Montoya was booked into the Ramsey County jail before being released on her own recognizance, according to the jail. She was cited for three counts of misdemeanor DWI.

The station, which is attached to fire department headquarters and opened in 2010, sustained damage to brickwork and window frames, and large-pane windows were broken, said St. Paul Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard.

The SUV struck the station’s kitchen area; the nearest seating area in the kitchen is about 3 feet away, he said. Zaccard didn’t have information about whether firefighters were in the kitchen at the time.

An estimate of the damage hasn’t been completed, and it will be at least a month before a contractor repairs the station, Zaccard said Monday.

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