On April 16, 2016, Defendant Tom Souvannaphong ([DOB REDACTED]) was convicted in Benton County of two counts of criminal vehicular homicide, after he attempted to beat a red light and struck another vehicle, killing two occupants and injuring a third, with a BAC of 0.10. See 05-CR-15-1500. Defendant was committed to the Commissioner of Corrections for 58 months as a result, and any subsequent DWI in his lifetime would constitute a felony. At the time of his 2015 conviction, Defendant also had a recent prior conviction for DWI from 2014. On April 3, 2026, Defendant was driving on northbound University Avenue NE in Fridley, Anoka County, when a Fridley police officer on patrol noticed that Defendant’s vehicle was swerving in the roadway and could not maintain its lane.
The officer initiated a stop and spoke to Defendant, who had an odor of alcohol and admitted to drinking a single beer. Defendant consented to the HGN test, showing 6/6 clues of impairment, but declined to do either the one-leg stand or the walk-and-turn test. He consented to a PBT instead, which showed an initial result of 0.157. Defendant was then placed under arrest and taken to the Fridley Police Station, where he was read the Minnesota Implied Consent Advisory. However, Defendant ultimately refused to take the breath test.
It should be noted that Defendant’s license was revoked and he could not provide any proof of insurance for the vehicle he was driving.
