DULUTH — A driver had drugs in her system and was speeding on wet roads when she crashed and killed her mother two years ago, authorities said.

Kayla Marie Polaski, 31, of Duluth, was arrested Monday on charges of criminal vehicular homicide and operation for the July 3, 2023, collision with another vehicle in Hermantown. A warrant was issued for her arrest last week.

The passenger, Penny Jean Polaski, 46, of Hermantown, was pronounced dead at the scene along Lavaque Bypass Road near Ugstad Road. The other driver was also hospitalized.

The complaint says Kayla Polaski told a paramedic en route to the hospital that she had used heroin earlier that day. A blood test later revealed the presence of amphetamine and methamphetamine.

Court filings indicate Polaski’s southbound Kia Rio cross

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