Traffic was rerouted for about an hour on Wednesday, January 27 after this truck jackknifed on Highway 61 in Grand Marais. There were no injuries.
Traffic on Highway 61 in Grand Marais was blocked for about an hour on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 after a semi went out of control and jack-knifed, blocking both lanes of traffic.
According to the Minnesota State Patrol, Singh Vikramjeet, 23, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, was traveling north in a 2014 Kenworth flatbed truck at about 3:30 p.m. when he lost control on the icy roadway, crossing the other driving lane and crashing into the rock wall dividing the highway and the lakefront walking path.
Singh told State Patrol Trooper Leah Carpenter that the rock wall stopped his vehicle from going into the lake. The truck, registered to Big Freight Systems, Inc. of Steinbach, Manitoba, suffered moderate damage, but appeared to be able to be driven. Its load, rolls of heavy material used in mining, stayed secured.
However, Singh could not get traction in the rear end to get the truck moving. Traffic was routed up and around the block by the State Patrol, Cook County Sheriff deputies and Border Patrol officers for about an hour.
The Cook County Highway Department was paged to bring sand and then a highway department staffer returned with a grader that was used to give the semi a pull to get it straightened out. Singh was towed to the parking area above Cook County Law Enforcement for inspection by state commercial vehicle inspectors and to await a tow back to Canada.
Singh was wearing his seatbelt and suffered no injuries, although he was shaken up.
Trooper Carpenter said the incident occurred shortly after freezing rain started. She said when she and Deputy Julie Collman arrived, it was so icy they could hardly stand up. Carpenter said she had to put ice cleats on her shoes to be able to offer assistance.
No citation was issued.
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