A now-former Washington County sheriff’s deputy has been sentenced to four months in the workhouse and four years’ probation for driving drunk while off duty and crashing head-on into a family’s SUV on an Afton highway, seriously injuring the driver, who was heading to an apple orchard with his wife and several children.
Campbell Johnston Blair, 59, of Hastings, was intoxicated and wearing his sheriff’s office uniform while heading south on Minnesota 95 (St. Croix Trail) at Scenic Lane just after 10:30 a.m. Oct. 27, 2024. His duty pistol was on the front passenger seat.
Campbell Johnston Blair (Courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office)
Erik and Heather Sward, of Woodbury, were on their way to an apple orchard to celebrate their daughter’s second birthday. The couple’s two other children, ages 6 and 8, and their two cousins, 7 and 9, were also in the 2022 Ford Expedition, according to the state patrol.
Blair, driving a 2024 Subaru Crosstrek SUV, crossed over the center line and smashed into the couple’s SUV at 55 mph, the criminal complaint said.
Erik Sward’s injuries included a spinal fracture and fractures to his lower left leg. Heather and three of the children emerged with minor injuries, according to prosecutors.
Blair was put on administrative leave from his job and resigned Feb. 1. He’d been a deputy since 2020 and was assigned to the court security unit.
The Washington County Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case, but court proceedings were held in Anoka County District Court to avoid a potential conflict of interest.
In September, Blair entered a Norgaard plea to felony criminal vehicular operation-causing substantial bodily harm and a gross misdemeanor charge of criminal vehicular operation-causing bodily harm.
Under a Norgaard plea, a defendant says they are unable to remember what happened due to drug use or mental health impairment at the time, but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a jury to convict beyond a reasonable doubt.
Six other charges were dismissed at Tuesday’s sentencing as part of a plea agreement Blair reached with the prosecution: carrying a pistol while under the influence of alcohol, which is a misdemeanor, and five additional counts of criminal vehicular operation.
Under state sentencing guidelines, Blair faced a presumptive 12-month stayed prison sentence.
Anoka County District Judge Todd Schoffelman handed down a 364-day workhouse sentence, then stayed all but 120 days. Blair will receive one day of jail credit toward the workhouse term, which will begin Jan. 2.
The sentence includes a stay of imposition, which means Blair’s felony conviction will be reduced to a misdemeanor if he successfully completes terms of probation.
55 mph crash
According to the complaint, state troopers called to the crash found Blair in his uniform and conscious but covered in blood from lacerations. His duty vest and pistol were on the front passenger seat. He told a trooper he had worked overnight at Regions Hospital in St. Paul and got done at 7 a.m. He said he had been called to return to work at the hospital.
Field-sobriety tests were not conducted at the crash scene because Blair had to be extricated from his SUV and transported to Regions Hospital for medical care.
Blair gave a statement to investigators while at Regions, repeating that he had been called back to work at Regions. He smelled of alcohol, but denied that he had been drinking. He agreed to give a preliminary breath test, and gave a “weak sample” that registered a 0.09 blood-alcohol level, the complaint read. The legal limit for a driver in Minnesota is 0.08.
Investigators later learned that Blair had not been called back in to work, and that he did not work again until that night. “It was unknown why Blair was in full uniform with his duty vest and pistol,” the complaint said.
Several motorists said they saw Blair weaving over lane lines and driving erratically.
Troopers believed that Blair hit the couple’s SUV at 55 mph without braking, since no marks were found on the highway, the complaint said.
Erik Sward told investigators while hospitalized they were struck with no warning and that he did not have time to hit the brakes.
He also took prescribed Ambien
In a sentencing memo, Blair’s attorney, Stephen Foertsch, said Blair testified at his plea hearing that he took Ambien per his prescription instructions and remembered drinking one beer.
A sample of Blair’s blood taken at the hospital showed a 0.089 BAC and the presence of the sleep disorder drug, according to Foertsch.
“Mr. Blair’s offense was caused by an unexpected reaction to Ambien and alcohol, a reaction that, again, Mr. Blair had no reason to anticipate,” Foertsch wrote.
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Blair testified that he remembered waking up in the hospital, but had no memory of putting on his uniform, according to Foertsch. Blair testified that he was not scheduled to work, nor called in to work, and he did not know why he put on his uniform.
Assistant Washington County Attorney Erin Stephens said last week in the state’s sentencing memo that Blair should have known the dangers of drinking and driving since he was a deputy at the time.
Yet, he chose to consume alcohol and his prescribed Ambien dosage, Stephens said.
“Unfortunately, this day, he was an actual danger to other motorists, causing significant harm in the lives of many,” the prosecutor wrote.
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