By Bruce Karnick

[email protected]

Monday Morning, April 12th, a two-vehicle accident occurred on Highway 316 near Otero Avenue. Highway 316 was closed to through traffic starting at 190th Street on the Hastings side. Traffic was diverted onto 190th Street to Nicolai Avenue to Highway 61. On the Red Wing side, Highway 316 was closed to the south at 61.

According to Dakota County’s brief statement, the accident involved two vehicles, an SUV and a semi-truck. The driver of the SUV collided with the semi and died at the scene. DSCO was on scene assisting the Minnesota State Patrol with the investigation.

The accident occurred at 7:33 a.m. in front of the Almquist Farm just south of Otero Avenue near the peak of the long hill. The semi was travelling in the northbound lane toward Hastings and the SUV was travelling southbound toward Red Wing. Witnesses from the homes near the accident site said they heard a horrible and loud noise. One witness had spoken to a friend that lives nearly two miles away. That friend reported hearing the sound and confirmed the time of the sound with the witness.

Before police arrived, witnesses had gone out to the highway to see what happened. The SUV had hit the rear of the semi’s trailer at the wheels, ripping the entire axel assembly from the trailer. The semi driver maintained control and managed to keep the truck on the road, yet was able to get it to the side of the road out of the way. The trailer did end up partially in the northbound ditch and stayed attached to the semi. The SUV ended up partially in the ditch on the southbound side of the road. The semi travelled over 200 yards before coming to a stop.

Once on the site, State patrol called for assistance from the Minnesota Department of Transportation to help divert traffic away from the scene. They shut down highway 316 for nearly six hours while they investigated the accident.

During the investigation, the semi driver was cooperative as was the company he works for. It was reported the semi does have a dash camera and it was active. Security cameras at one of the homes did catch the accident and according to the witness, it looked as though the semi never left their lane until after the impact.

At approximately 9:30 a.m. the Hennepin County Medical Examiner was on scene to assist and presumably transport the deceased SUV driver.

As is the norm for Hastings’ area residents, the owner of Almquist Farms extended a kind invitation to the officers on the scene. He knew the officers were in for a long, wet, chilly day, so he opened the wedding facility to give the investigators a spot to warm up and a rest room to use.

The accident is still under investigation by the State Patrol.

The scene of the accident before first responders arrived. The SUV hit the semi with so much force, the axle unit of the trailer was ripped off, creating a sound heard for miles. Photo donated.