In light of Park Tavern crash, substance-use recovery advocates say comprehensive approach needed

Minnesota Now

People are gathering at Westwood Lutheran Church in St. Louis Park to remember Kristina Folkerts on Thursday. Folkerts was killed last week when a driver slammed his vehicle into the patio at the Park Tavern, where she was working as a server.

The driver, Steven Bailey, has been charged in the case. Authorities said Bailey’s blood alcohol level was more than four times the legal limit. He also had five previous DWI convictions.

A DWI conviction on its own isn’t always an indicator of substance-use disorder. But most drivers in alcohol-involved fatal crashes have high blood alcohol levels — at or above point one five percent — according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

That’s about seven or eight drinks in an hour, far beyond what the CDC considers binge drinking.

The tragedy makes us wonder how to prevent further tragedies like this one and why people who need help with substance use don’t always seek it. And if they seek it, don’t always find it.

William Moyers is vice president of Public Affairs and Community Relations at Hazelden Foundation and the author of “Broken Open: What Painkillers Taught Me about Life and Recovery.”

He joined MPR News guest host Nina Moini to talk about the landscape of addiction recovery in Minnesota.