Bad road conditions on Friday, January 18 led to a number of minor collisions in parking lots and along county roads with vehicles in the ditches throughout Cook County. There were two single vehicle accidents west of Grand Marais on Highway 61 due to icy roads.
The first happened near the Cut Face Creek Wayside Rest. Cook County Law Enforcement received a 911 call at 7:51 a.m. reporting a vehicle in the ditch on the lakeside of the highway.
State Patrol and a Cook County Sheriff ’s Deputy responded and found Agne Smith, 30, Grand Marais, off the road in her 2005 silver Pontiac 4-door sedan. Smith had lost control on the ice and went into the ditch. Smith was uninjured, but her car was significantly damaged.
The second crash was further south on Highway 61 just east of the Cascade River State Park campground entrance. Cook County Law Enforcement received a call at 2:20 p.m. reporting that a vehicle had rolled over and was in a “tippy position.”
The Lutsen Fire Department and Cook County Ambulance were paged and Lutsen Fire responded with two engines. When emergency responders arrived on scene, the vehicle, a 2008 Dodge, driven by Deborah Blake, 48, of Ottawa, Ontario, was on its side with one of the three female passengers still inside.
Members of the fire department worked with ambulance personnel and Grand Marais First Responders to stabilize the car while they freed the woman. None of the women suffered serious injury and they were given a ride to Java Moose in Grand Marais to wait for a ride.
Lutsen Fire Department remained with the vehicle as a precaution because there was a fuel leak. The scene was cleaned up and the fire department was back at the fire hall at 3:37 p.m.
No citations were issued for either accident. State Trooper Leah Carpenter who responded to the calls said there were patches of black ice on the road. “The ice there was sneaky,” she said.
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