Le Sueur man charged with felony DWI after crashing four-wheeler into retaining wall

A Le Sueur man is charged with a felony DWI after allegedly driving a four-wheeler into a property owner’s retaining wall while intoxicated.

Timothy Charles Bratsch, 41, is charged with two felony DWIs, a misdemeanor ignition interlock violation and a misdemeanor failure to notify owner of damaged property. Bratsch has a criminal history which includes three driving under the influence events within the past 10 years.

Le Sueur Police responded to a motor vehicle accident near the intersection of South Third Street and Davis Street in Le Sueur on June 15 at 5:17 p.m. There, officers found a badly damaged blue and gray Polaris Sportsman 700 in the middle of the street with multiple people surrounding it. The DNR registration sticker indicated the vehicle belonged to Bratsch.

One witness told officers they saw Bratsch driving the vehicle a few minutes before they heard the accident, while another gave a physical description of the driver and noted he smelled of alcohol. A third witness said they went to the secen of the accident after hearing the crash and the driver told them not to call 911 before fleeing the scene upon hearing sirens.

Police located Bratsch at his residence. When he stepped outside, Bratsch appeared to have a large scratch and abrasion on the left side of his face. His face also appeared red, puffy and bruised.

Bratsch failed multiple sobriety tests and his blood alcohol content was determined to be 0.17 by a preliminary breath test, more than twice the legal limit. He was then arrested for driving while intoxicated and transported to Ridgeview Hospital for observation.

While at the hospital, law enforcement attempted to administer a search warrant for a blood and urine sample. Under criminal penalty, Bratsch refused to submit to a test.

During the investigation, law enforcement found that Bratsch was required to have an ignition interlock device on his vehicle, but the four-wheeler did not have such a device attached to it.