UPDATED: Speed, alcohol believed to be factors in Cottage Grove rollover that trapped woman

Police say criminal charges are pending after a one-vehicle rollover last week left a Cottage Grove woman hospitalized with injuries sustained after she became trapped in the overturned car.

Police and paramedics were called to the scene of a reported rollover at 2:10 a.m. Sunday, July 29, in the 8100 block of Hemingway Avenue. They arrived to find a four-door sedan on its roof and a woman trapped because her arm was sticking out of the sunroof, Cottage Grove Police Captain Pete Koerner said.

The car struck a mailbox and damaged a tree before coming to a stop. Neighbors who were outside at the time rushed to help police to free the woman whose arm was trapped, Koerner said. The woman was identified as Kristen Sylvia-Nellie Hegland, 34, of Cottage Grove.

Police said three other people who were in the car when it crashed. Two other passengers were Daniel J. Schafer, 30, of Woodbury, and 23-year-old Ashley A. Whelan, 23, of Cottage Grove.

The driver was identified as a 37-year-old Cottage Grove man. Koerner said speed and alcohol were believed to be contributing factors in the crash. The driver has not been arrested. Charges could be filed following further investigation by Cottage Grove police and the completion of a Minnesota State Patrol accident reconstruction, Koerner said.

All four vehicle occupants were transported to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where Kristen Hegland was still being treated last week, police said.

Cottage Grove paramedics were assisted by Woodbury emergency responders and a HealthEast ambulance.

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