A driver is accused of ramming two pickups after an argument at a campground. A deputy responded around 2:07 a.m. Sept. 19 to a disorderly conduct report at Bluff Valley Campground near Zumbro Falls.
Prosecutors charged Dustin Michael Brown, 33, of Lakota, Iowa, with two felony counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and misdemeanor counts of DWI and reckless driving.
The deputy saw two trucks pass in the opposite direction, including a large pickup with dual rear tires, then found a red pickup in a ditch. Its driver said Brown had run him off the road, according to the complaint.
The deputy saw tire tracks in the gravel and significant damage to the red pickup’s tailgate. Dispatch then reported that another driver was being chased by someone in a Ford F-450 on Highway 63 toward Rochester. That driver reported speeds above 80 mph and said the pursuing driver was trying to run him off the road.
Officers stopped Brown at Highway 63 and 20th Avenue Northeast. Brown told deputies there had been a fight at the campsite and said he had consumed two or three beers over six hours.
Deputies reported that Brown smelled strongly of alcohol, had bloodshot and watery eyes and failed field sobriety tests. He declined a preliminary breath test and was arrested. Deputies later obtained a warrant for a urine sample; the complaint does not state a laboratory result.
The driver chased toward Rochester told deputies the campground argument escalated after someone slapped Brown on the back of the head. He said Brown ordered both drivers to leave and take a trailer.
That driver said he saw Brown ram the pickup behind him, then follow and ram his own truck after they passed Zumbro Falls. A passenger was riding with him at the time, according to the complaint.
