A Minnesota Woman Claims Her Dog Took the Wheel of Her Car and Killed an 82-Year-Old Driver

A northern Minnesota woman remains jailed and faces a felony charge after prosecutors say she crossed into oncoming traffic on a rural highway, killing another driver — and then told investigators her dog was responsible for the deadly crash.

Shauna Rae Dokken was charged Monday, June 1, in Roseau County District Court with criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the May 29 collision on Minnesota Highway 11, roughly 5 miles east of Roseau. The victim, Barbara Lee Welberg, of Baudette, Minnesota, died at the scene when her SUV was struck head-on by Dokken’s truck, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.

Per the report published Tuesday, June 2, Dokken, 43, told investigators that her dog physically intervened during the drive. “Dokken described her dog distracting her, and the dog twisted the steering wheel and caused the vehicle to spin out of control,” the criminal complaint stated, according to the outlet.

Welberg, 82, was found dead inside her overturned SUV when a sheriff’s deputy arrived on scene around 4 p.m. Multiple witnesses described watching Dokken’s truck swerve repeatedly into oncoming lanes before the collision. One witness told authorities he had to veer onto the shoulder to avoid being hit himself. “The witness said … it felt as if the driver was intentionally tracking his movements and trying to hit him,” the complaint read, per the report.

When a state trooper spoke with Dokken at the hospital, where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, he noted that her speech was slurred, according to the outlet. A preliminary breath test returned no trace of alcohol, but Dokken told investigators she had taken three prescription medications that day to address anxiety and ADHD. A blood sample was collected under a search warrant, and results remain pending, per the Star Tribune.

Court records cited by the publication show that Dokken was on probation at the time of the crash following a May 2025 conviction for driving while under the influence of drugs. Her prior driving record also includes convictions for drunken driving, careless driving, speeding, a stop sign violation and two separate offenses for driving with a revoked license.

According to the article, Dokken remains jailed on $200,000 bail ahead of a Wednesday, June 10 court hearing.