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Motorcyclist injured after mash spilled on I-94
Published Saturday, August 2, 2008
Editor's note: Photo by Jamie Sesti
An Ottawa, British Columbia motorcyclist suffered minor injuries Friday evening after wiping out on Interstate 94 in corn mash that was lost from a load of a semi that had been at the Otter Tail Ag Enterprises ethanol plant in Fergus Falls.
Two cars crashed on the interstate as a result of the load spill, as well.
The Minnesota State Patrol and Fergus Falls Police Department were called to the westbound ramp of I-94 at the Lincoln Avenue-Highway 210 at 7:35 p.m. Friday where Robert Scott, 59, Ottawa, British Columbia, received minor injuries after laying down his 2006 BMW motorcycle after driving through the spilled mash, which caused the roadway to become extremely slippery. Scott, who was not wearing a helmet, was traveling westbound on the I-94 ramp at the time of the accident, according to the State Patrol.
Two westbound vehicles collided on the Interstate when a 2005 Chevrolet driven by Rebecca Rost, 24, Jamestown, N.D. collided with a 1999 Toyota Camry driven by Craig Sem, 31, of Underwood. The crash occurred when a vehicle in the right lane of westbound I-94 lost control in the spilled corn mash and struck a vehicle in the left lane. Neither driver sustained injuries.
The right lane of I-94 was closed for about two hours, the State Patrol said. The Minnesota Department of Transportation and Fergus Falls Fire department were on scene cleaning the highway until around 9:30 p.m. Friday.
Comments
The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Witty is great. Abusive is not. If you think a post violates these standards, don't escalate the situation. Instead, flag the comment to alert us. We'll take action if necessary. It's not hard. This should be a place where people want to read and contribute -- a place for spirited exchanges of opinion. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post at all.Posted by notcominghome (anonymous) on August 2, 2008 at 9:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
So were the drivers of the cars wearing seatbelts? Being that the story points out the guy on the bike was not wearing a helmet? Lets get the COMPLETE story.
Posted by The_Nick (anonymous) on August 2, 2008 at 9:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe his minor injuries were a result of him not wearing a helmet.
Posted by bobcab (anonymous) on August 2, 2008 at 10:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
why are the commenter's so far blaming the victims of this incident although having the complete story would be nice. here are a few questions i have because the story is incomplete. did the truck diver know he had spilled? if not why would the truck be so over loaded that it could spill without the driver knowing in the first place? why didnt the driver call the police instead the police were called after an accident? will there be safe guards in place so this does not happen again? (next time some one could be killed!) is there a plan in place with the otter tail ag to clean such a spill? why are there no charges against the driver or otter tail ag for causing the spill? ether the driver was driving to fast or the truck over loaded or not designed properly not to spill.
Posted by justme (anonymous) on August 3, 2008 at 5:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Had the drivers of the cars been injured, the seatbelt question would be relevant. The fact that the motorcyclist had no helmet on could lead to greater injury, which makes it part of the story. However, I do agree with the above poster. Very good questions, that should be addressed before this happens again, as I can imagine there will be increasing numbers of trucks loaded with the slippery mash as the ethonal plant gets fully into gear.
Posted by 2cents (anonymous) on August 4, 2008 at 7:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
To babcab and justme; The ethanol plant has nothing to do with the driver's issue here. It is completely the drivers fault for not doing his safety check of his vehicle before taking off with his load. The driver is NOT an employee nor works for the ethanol plant. There will be no charges against the ethanol plant because they DID NOT cause the accident. It was the driver. Plain and simple. The driver and the outfit he works for will be the ones to pay the price for his careless overlook of his load if and when they get fined or ticketed.
Posted by justme (anonymous) on August 4, 2008 at 8:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
2cents; Obviously, the truck driver was at fault, and his company is responsible for damages. My point is that the mere fact that the ethanol plant is now up and running, we will begin seeing more truck traffic than ever before, and this increases the likelihood of similar accidents.
Posted by Curious (anonymous) on August 4, 2008 at 8:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How do you know that the driver didn't do a complete pretrip inspection, and that something didn't just fail on the truck after he left?
Posted by E_85 (anonymous) on August 4, 2008 at 11:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I just so happen to know the situation. There is also one more vehicle involved that was before the accident. The driver had gotten the "wetcake" spilled onto their car. The truck driver stopped for them and told them to go to the ethanol plant to get rinsed off, he then left the scene. If you think there was a possibility of him being overloaded, that too, would be his fault, as he scales himself out and knows his weight. This whole thing is lies on his shoulders.
Posted by E_85 (anonymous) on August 4, 2008 at 11:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
As far as Bobcab's questions; if you would notice the picture. The whole lane is full of "wetcake" therefore it cannot be the result of overloading, it clearly came directly out of the back of the truck. Not one side or the other. IT is NOT the responsibilty of OTAE to clean such a spill, but I am sure they would gladly help. Are you responsible to pick up packages if a UPS truck forgets to close its back doors? People need to learn to take blame for their own actions and stop looking for someone else to push the blame on.
Posted by cakepie (anonymous) on August 5, 2008 at 3:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Ottawa, British Columbia"
REALLY??
Last time I checked Ottawa was in Ontario.
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