A couple from Bloomington were injured in an accident with a logging truck in northern Minnesota on March 8, 2016.
Minnesota State Patrol Preliminary Report
A fully loaded 1987 Peterbuilt 359 logging truck was moving eastbound on Caribou Trail to go northbound on Highway 61 in Cook County. The truck and trailer rolled onto its side, which spilled logs across the highway. The roads were dry. At about 1:39 p.m., a 2009 Honda Accord was traveling northbound on Highway 61 and hit the logs on the roadway. The Honda went into the east ditch.
The wife, who was driving the car, suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The husband, a passenger in the Honda, was seriously injured in the crash.
Questions that Need Answers
- Was the truck driver speeding (driving too fast given the load and size of the trailer)?
- Was he distracted?
- Was he tired?
- Was he qualified to be driving a tractor-trailer loaded with logs?
- Did he break any traffic laws?
- Who loaded the logs?
- Was the weight of the logs balanced in the trailer?
- Was there a mechanical failure?
- Who owned the truck?
- Who owned the trailer?
- Who owned the logs?
These are only a few of the many questions that need answers. What is clear is that this accident was preventable.