Who is responsible for cleaning up the streets and highways after a crash, especially the vehicle debris?
According to the Minnesota State Patrol, if there is a tow truck called to a crash scene, then they are generally responsible for cleaning up the debris. If they inadvertently (or otherwise) leave it, or if there was a crash where no tow operator or police were in attendance, then the road authority would be the ones to clean it up.
“Road authority” means, for example, the county highway department would be responsible for the county roads and Mn/ DOT would be responsible on state trunk highways, U.S. highways, and interstate highways.
If you see any areas of concern, that is who you should contact, unless it is a larger piece of debris or other item that is observed in a roadway or in a traffic lane that you believe is a hazard to vehicular traffic. In that case, you should call the police, sheriff or State Patrol as soon as possible. They will dispatch the proper road authority as well as an officer to the scene quickly to either remove the item or make the scene safe until the road authority arrives to do it.
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