Toddler Killed After Maplewood Mom Rolled SUV While Drunk And High, Prosecutors Say

MAPLEWOOD, MN — A Maplewood mother is facing felony charges after prosecutors say she was drunk behind the wheel in a weekend rollover crash that killed her 18-month-old child.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Ramsey County, 28-year-old Rachale Francine Peloquin is charged with criminal vehicular homicide, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

She is being held in the Ramsey County Jail on $250,000 bail. A preliminary breath test put her blood alcohol concentration at 0.172, more than twice Minnesota’s legal limit, authorities said.

The crash happened around 6:25 p.m. Sept. 20 on eastbound Highway 36 near the ramp to southbound Highway 61, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

Peloquin’s Chevrolet Tahoe rolled multiple times before landing upside down in a swampy pond about 30 feet off the road.

Emergency crews waved down troopers, shouting that a child was trapped beneath the SUV.

Maplewood firefighters used hydraulic tools to lift the vehicle, but medics pronounced the toddler dead at 6:35 p.m.

One of Peloquin’s surviving children told troopers the toddler had been wearing a seatbelt. Despite that, the child was found pinned under the SUV after it rolled, according to the complaint.

The complaint states troopers found Peloquin “screaming and hysterical,” soaked and covered in algae. She repeatedly cried out, “Save my baby.”

When asked who was driving, Peloquin admitted, “Me, and I lost control.” She explained that she had left the house because “I’m a single mom and I don’t get a f****** break. I don’t get a break, so I asked my baby daddy’s mom, and she said, ‘Yeah, drop them off.’”

Troopers documented a strong odor of alcohol. At the scene, Peloquin said, “I don’t know. I lost control of the f****** wheel, and it spin the f*** out and my baby was under the car.” She also said, “It was slippery from the f****** rain. I lost control of the f****** car and f****** spun the f*** out.”

The complaint notes she later admitted her tires were bald, that she had “a couple of shots last night,” and that she had smoked “a little bit of weed earlier in the day.”

Troopers reported finding three empty Fireball whiskey bottles along the Tahoe’s path. A blood sample was later taken under a warrant at 8:20 p.m. while Peloquin was sedated at the hospital.

Investigators interviewed her two surviving children, ages 4 and 5, who said their mother was driving. Neither child reported injuries. A witness also told troopers the SUV rolled several times before coming to rest.

Peloquin’s passenger, identified in the complaint as "KW," told troopers he was sitting in the front passenger seat and tried to help rescue the children after the crash.

Although Peloquin initially admitted she was driving, the complaint says she later tried to blame KW, telling officers, “The guy I was with was driving.”

The Minnesota State Patrol continues to investigate the crash.