BLUE EARTH — An Elmore woman faces multiple charges following a rollover crash that left her young daughter with serious injuries in October 2025.
Heather Lin Kwasniewski, 37, has been charged in Faribault County District Court with criminal vehicular operation and driving while impaired.
A Minnesota State Patrol trooper responded to a single-vehicle rollover just after 6 p.m. Oct. 8, 2025, along Highway 169 near Blue Earth. Authorities found a Chevrolet Malibu overturned in a ditch with a juvenile trapped underneath the vehicle. Inside the vehicle, Kwasniewski was observed rummaging through items and behaving incoherently, according to the criminal complaint.
The pinned child, Kwasniewski’s 11-year-old daughter, suffered significant injuries and told authorities the car had been traveling at a high speed and swerving before leaving the roadway and becoming airborne, the complaint states. A witness who called 911 also reported seeing the vehicle traveling at a fast speed, crossing the centerline and ultimately overturning.
Both Kwasniewski and the juvenile were transported to a hospital. The child was later taken to Rochester, where she underwent surgery for a fractured pelvis and remained immobile for several weeks.
Authorities obtained a warrant for a blood sample from Kwasniewski while she was hospitalized. Test results later indicated the presence of methamphetamine, amphetamine, THC compounds and clonazepam in her system at the time of the crash, according to the complaint. Crash reconstruction determined that weather and road conditions were not contributing factors in the incident.