A Duluth woman drove a Toyota Corolla into a city meter reader’s vehicle twice in a construction zone, then fled the scene and later led officers on a pursuit through the city, according to charges.
Janice Lynn Sailstad, 60, faces three charges: fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, a felony; driving while impaired by cannabis or a hemp product, a gross misdemeanor; and failing to stop after a traffic collision, a misdemeanor. The charges were filed Friday, August 28, in Saint Louis County District Court.
According to the complaint, officers responded on August 27 to a report of a hit-and-run involving a female driver who had been seen bouncing off the curb and striking another vehicle in Duluth. The reporting party, a city meter reader, told officers he first saw the driver on West 3rd Street, where she drove out of the right lane in the wrong direction and came within a couple of feet of his vehicle door before leaving the area.
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The meter reader said he saw the same driver again two blocks away in a construction zone, where she attempted to turn around and drove close to the rear of his car. The complaint states the driver then struck his vehicle twice with her front bumper. When the meter reader confronted her, she backed up and drove away. He later noticed damage to his vehicle, including a mark on the driver side bumper from her exhaust pipe.
Officers found the Toyota Corolla matching the description and license plate of the suspect vehicle. Police observed the driver fail to stop at a stop sign and attempted to pull her over using lights and an intercom. The complaint states the driver crossed the shoulder, and as the officer slowed the squad car believing she was stopping, she instead accelerated away and continued west on Skyline Parkway. Officers pursued the vehicle until it eventually came to a stop.
Police identified the driver as Janice Lynn Sailstad. When told to exit the car, Sailstad left the vehicle in neutral, causing it to roll down the road. An officer jumped in to apply the parking brake and stop the car. Sailstad told officers she had not hit another vehicle but had struck the median, and admitted she was aware she did not stop when police pursued her. She also acknowledged she could have braked to stop the vehicle.
Sailstad agreed to perform field sobriety tests but struggled to follow instructions, and officers noted signs of impairment. She eventually told police she had smoked marijuana the night before and had a THC beverage in her coffee mug. Officers arrested Sailstad and transported her to Essentia Hospital for a blood draw after obtaining a search warrant. Her blood samples were sent for further testing.
The complaint notes Sailstad has a prior DWI conviction from May 2023 and a license cancellation for driving while impaired from February 2024.
A court date has not yet been set.
About This Charge
Minnesota’s DWI statute is § 169A.20, with degrees defined under § 169A.24 through § 169A.27. A first-degree DWI is a felony carrying up to seven years in prison and triggered by three or more qualifying prior impaired-driving incidents within 10 years, a prior felony DWI, or a prior felony vehicular homicide. Second and third-degree DWI are gross-misdemeanor offenses.
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Jurisdictional Context
Saint Louis County is Minnesota’s largest county by area, stretching from Duluth to the Canadian border. The Saint Louis County Attorney’s Office prosecutes felonies through the Sixth Judicial District; cases are heard at the Saint Louis County Courthouse in Duluth and the Virginia courthouse for cases north of the iron range.
