FLOODWOOD, Minn. — The Minnesota State Patrol served a search warrant Wednesday to retrieve a blood sample from a semi driver involved in a violent construction zone crash in northern Minnesota that claimed four lives.
Court documents reveal that a witness to the crash, which happened on Highway 2 near the community of Floodwood, told troopers that the 63-year-old trucker who plowed into multiple vehicles stopped in the construction zone was weaving over lane lines for several miles prior to the crash.
That motorist, who was following directly behind the semi, also described the driver speeding up and slowing down in the minutes before the crash. The trooper that applied for the search warrant spoke with the truck driver at the hospital and said he observed slow motor movements and slower than normal reaction times. He described the driver as groggy and lethargic, noting that he could not recall anything that occurred prior to, or during the crash.
"From the investigation, peace officers concluded that at the time the Person was driving, operating, or controlling the motor vehicle, the Person was under the influence of combination of alcohol and controlled substance(s), or intoxicating substances," wrote Trooper Sean Hollencamp.
The search warrant was granted by a St. Louis County judge and a blood sample was drawn from the semi driver for testing.
Investigators say four vehicles - three passenger vehicles and a semi - were stopped on Highway 2 as Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) crews started a major repaving project. The second semi struck those vehicles at highway speed, killing all four people inside a Honda Pilot.
The victims, all from Blackduck, are 65-year-old Vincent Louis Dow; 66-year-old Bonnie Mae Dow; 9-year-old Hope Mae Oakgrove; and 9-year-old Charlotte White, all of Blackduck.
An 84-year-old woman riding in another vehicle and the driver of the stopped semi suffered non-life-threatening injuries, as did the driver of the International semi that struck the other vehicles.
At this time, no criminal charges have been filed against the 63-year-old semi driver.