Menomonie woman charged with driving drunk with child in the car

CHIPPEWA FALLS — A Menomonie woman has been charged with driving drunk with a minor in her car stemming from an arrest on July 9.

Veronica D. Sandlin, 41, 1503 15th Ave., was charged in Chippewa County Court with OWI-3rd with a minor passenger in the vehicle, which is a felony. Judge Benjamin Lane released her on a $100 cash bond and set a return date for Sept. 24. Sandlin also was cited for driving without a valid license.

According to the criminal complaint, the Chippewa Falls Police Department received a tip of a drunk driver at 2:52 a.m. on July 9, and there was a “small child” in the vehicle.

An eyewitness told police that “Sandlin had been drinking since noon on July 8 and had not stopped. Multiple people at the residence said they told Sandlin not to drive away.”

The officer located Sandlin’s vehicle on Seymour Cray Boulevard and observed it cross the fog lines multiple times. It also was traveling 50-55 mph in a posted 70 mph zone.

The officer pulled over the vehicle and observed Sandlin had slurred speech, glossy eyes, and she failed field sobriety tests. She was arrested and taken to Mayo Clinic Health Systems hospital in Eau Claire for a blood draw. A preliminary breath test showed a .21 blood-alcohol level, more than twice the legal limit. The Wisconsin State Laboratory tested her blood and it showed a .25 blood-alcohol level.

Court records show Sandlin was convicted of her second drunk-driving offense in Dunn County Court in 2021.

As terms of her release, Sandlin cannot consume or possess alcohol or enter taverns. She must take daily preliminary breath tests, and she can take them at the Dunn County Jail as long as there is no cost to Chippewa County.