Woman Blames Dog for Deadly Head-On Crash in Minnesota

When you’re behind the wheel and things go wrong, there are plenty of explanations people reach for. Road conditions. Other drivers. Bad luck. But a dog grabbing the steering wheel? That’s a new one—and prosecutors in Minnesota aren’t buying it.

Shauna Rae Dokken is facing a vehicular homicide charge after a catastrophic collision on May 29 in Roseau left 82-year-old Barbara Welberg dead. According to prosecutors, Dokken’s pickup truck crossed into oncoming traffic in a head-on crash with an SUV. Her explanation to law enforcement? Her dog took control of the steering wheel while she was reaching for a treat, she claimed. When she tried to regain control, the truck hit the highway shoulder and spun out, leading to the fatal impact.

Here’s where the narrative falls apart. Dokken admitted to taking both Adderall and Lorazepam the day of the crash—prescription medications that can impair judgment and reaction time. She’s also currently on probation for a 2025 DWI case, and prosecutors have charged her not just with criminal vehicular homicide but with DWI and DWI within 10 years of three or more qualified prior impaired driving incidents. That last charge is particularly damning; it suggests a pattern of getting behind the wheel while impaired.

The dog-as-culprit defense raises uncomfortable questions about personal responsibility. Even if a pet did somehow interfere—pets do move around cars, that’s real—a sober, attentive driver might have safely handled it. A driver on prescription sedatives who’s already violated probation from a prior DWI? That’s a very different story. The crash that killed Barbara Welberg wasn’t the result of an unpredictable animal. It was the result of choices made before Dokken ever got into that truck.

Dokken remains in jail. No information has been released about the dog’s condition or whether it will be called as a witness. One thing is certain: blaming a passenger, four-legged or otherwise, doesn’t erase the responsibility of the person holding the keys.