Faith Mitzel faces as many as 60 days in jail if convicted on misdemeanor driving violations she was cited for Tuesday in Devils Lake. But the fact that the Oberon, N.D., woman, involved in a fatal accident in May, celebrated her 93rd birthday Wednesday might get her a break.
Mitzel made news when she was given only a $20 ticket May 19 in nearby Benson County for driving in the wrong lane, hitting two motorcycles, fatally injuring a woman and seriously injuring two men.
On Tuesday, just outside Devils Lake, she was stopped by Ramsey County Sheriff's Deputy Ross Walther for failing to use her turn signal. She was driving an older car she owns home to rural Oberon, N.D., about 42 miles southwest of Devils Lake, she said.
Walther cited her for two misdemeanors: driving with a suspended driver's license and without liability insurance on the 1994 Chevy car.
Her driver's license was suspended June 2 in relation to the May 19 fatal accident.
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The lesser tickets Tuesday of not using a turn signal and having out-of-date license plate tabs were not written up, said Lonnie Olson, Ramsey County state's attorney.
Each of the misdemeanor charges carries a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Mitzel is due in court on the charges Monday in Devils Lake.
It's not unheard of for people to serve some time in jail on such charges, Olson.
And the May 19 accident, although it happened in another county, could affect what happens in Mitzell on this week's charges, Olson said.
"The court can impose up to the full 30 days on each charge," Olson said. "And courts always look at a person's prior history when sentencing."
He said Wednesday he hadn't had time to review the report on this week's arrest of Mitzel so he didn't know yet what sentence he might ask for.
"This one you take a couple of looks," he said. "She just turned, what, 93 today."
That, Olson said, might be seen by the court as a mitigating factor at sentencing.
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"Some courts don't want to put elderly people, or sick people, in jail," Olson said. "They wouldn't want to see the jail have to pay the medical bills."
Mitzel's attorney in the May 19 accident, who she said she still retains, Scott Sandness of Jamestown, N.D., did not return calls seeking comment on this week's arrest.
