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The suspected driver is in jail facing criminal vehicular homicide charges.
The family of Dana Lucker Milan is grieving after the 31‑year‑old was killed in a crash involving a suspected impaired driver. Her sister said the last few days have been filled with shock and pain.
“Any sign of her just brings tears to all of us. Being with family and friends and all that has helped. It’s definitely hard,” said Brianna Weeks, Milan’s sister.
She said Milan meant the whole world to her.
“Dana was the person I would call when anything in life was hard or exciting, or just to talk to. A two‑minute phone call would turn into an hour for us. She just was such a light in my life and in my daughter’s life, and I just miss her dearly,” Weeks said.
When asked what Dana was like, her sister described her as funny, stubborn and free‑spirited.
“She was just the most funny, stubborn, a very stubborn, person. Free‑spirited. You couldn’t tell her what to do. She just wanted to do her own thing at her own time,” Weeks said.
Dana loved her motorcycle named Lola and her pet.
“She had a dog named Gus, and that was her whole world. She always said that was the man she was going to love the rest of her life,” Weeks said
She said Dana lit up every room she walked into.
“I honestly think there was no one out there that truly had any hard feelings against her. She was just loved by so many,” Weeks said.
She said loved motorcycles at a young age and eventually joined a women’s riding group.
“Her dad rode bikes, and she grew up with him fixing them. She joined The Litas group a couple years back,” Weeks said.
The Litas is a global biking group for women.
When she traveled to Spain for school, she ran into more Lolitas groups from France and Germany, so she rode with them out in Europe,” Weeks said.
Riding was more than a hobby.
“It was a therapy. She would just randomly go on a ride if she wanted to… with her group, with her friends, by herself, to work. It was something to clear her mind,” Weeks said.
Her sister described the moment she learned about the crash.
“I got a call that she was in an accident and she was at Regions. I didn’t know what condition she was in,” she said. “When they finally called us, they told us that her heart stopped in the ambulance, and they tried everything they could, but she was already gone. We got to say our goodbyes.”
Weeks said the loss feels unbearable.
“Coming home and knowing that your sister is gone is a really hard thing to swallow. Really hard,” she said.
According to court documents, 63‑year‑old Robert Rodriguez is charged with vehicular homicide in Dana Lucker Milan’s death. Investigators said Rodriguez his Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) level was .27, that’s more than three times the legal limit. He also had a 2021 DWI conviction of a .27 BAC.
“I just have a loss of words of really of what to say to him. I just wish the whole thing could have gone differently. He could have watched a little bit more carefully. He couldn’t have drived. He could have got an uber or anything and she still would have been here,” Weeks said.
She other to think about the consequences before they drive impaired.
“People get behind the wheel all the time thinking they’re not going to hurt anyone,” Week said. “I just wish so many things could have been differently. It could have been so avoidable. Now we’ve lost a sister, a daughter, an aunt, a friend, a cousin all because of one incident. It’s just heartbreaking.”
Weeks said she keeps replaying the “what‑ifs.”
“I’ve been playing in my head , if I could have called her before and told her not to go that day, or go a different route,” she said.
She last saw Dana days before the crash.
“She recently moved into a new place. She was so excited. She had a yard for her dog. She walked her dog two to three miles a day. Me and her texted all the time I remember giving her the biggest hug. I wish I could have said ‘I love you’ one more time,” Weeks said.
She says speaking publicly was a difficult decision.
“I just wanted the world to know who she was as a person, and how great of a person she really was, and how loved she was, how great and amazing and wonderful and funny,” she said.
A memorial ride is planned for Lucker Milan on June 14 at P.D. Pappy’s Bar and Grill in downtown Stillwater.
“We will miss her so, so deeply. This world just feels so empty without her,” Weeks said.
State Patrol: Extra enforcement this summer
The Minnesota State Patrol said more than 300 agencies statewide participate in extra enforcement in the summer
“Expecting that there will be an increase in law enforcement efforts to keep up with the pace of impaired drivers,” said Lt, Kier, State Patrol. “Generally over the summer or holiday weekends there are offered extra shifts to patrol the Minnesota roadways. It’s 300 agencies across the state but specifically State Patrol we do offer extra shifts for more troopers to be out there on the roadways.”
That includes the July 4 holiday, a time when more people are on the roads and impairment becomes a greater concern.
“Yep, July 4 and then also throughout the whole summer. We’re in the period of 100 Deadliest Days so there is extra enforcement on every weekend.”
Kier said troopers see all types of impairment and when troopers stop a driver, they look for specific signs.
“Bloodshot watery eyes, slurred speech, their fine motor skills are diminished and they’re struggling pulling their driver’s license out of their wallet or even handing over a credit card or insurance card as opposed to what we’re asking for. And then we confirm it with our roadside field sobriety testing,” she said.
She said impaired driving is not limited to any one area.
“It’s everywhere,” she said.
Their message to drivers this summer and into the July 4 holiday? “We’re just asking people to make sure they’re wearing their seat belts, slow down, put distractions away, and arrange a sober ride. We want everybody to enjoy their holiday weekend and we need them to do that safely,” Kier said.
Minnesota Driving While Impaired (DWI) Dashboard
From May 1 through June 11:
DWIs
DWI‑related crashes
Recent Changes to Minnesota DWI Laws
The state’s impaired‑driving laws were strengthened after a deadly crash at Park Tavern in St. Louis Park in September 2024. Two people were killed and a dozen others were hurt when a repeat drunk driver drove into the restaurant’s outdoor patio.
Two‑time DWI offenders in Minnesota are now required to have ignition interlock devices installed in their vehicles for at least six years.
The devices prevent a vehicle from starting if a driver’s blood‑alcohol content is higher than 0.02. Minnesota’s legal limit is 0.08.
Drivers with three or more DWIs must use ignition interlock for at least ten years under the updated law.
