A driver in a Chevrolet Impala running a stop sign in Minnesota yesterday resulted in a fiery crash overturning a tractor-trailer. We often forget that the vehicle in your driveway weighs at least a ton, is composed of flammable materials, and can easily travel a mile per minute. Most cars and trucks could be categorized as weapons, and some people have used them as such. Failing to drive responsibly immediately endangers ourselves and others.
According to the Minnesota State Patrol, a 55-year-old man was driving his 2001 Chevy Impala southbound on 44th Ave in Havana Township, Minnesota. The township has a population of less than a thousand and is located roughly 70 miles south of the Twin Cities. At 5:30 a.m., a Minnesota Department of Transportation camera captured the Impala completely ignoring a stop sign at the avenue’s intersection with U.S. Highway 14.
The Impala plows into the side of a passing Pepsi-branded tractor-trailer. The sedan burst into flames and slid towards the highway’s grass median in a burning heap. The impact caused the trailer to tilt and quickly overturn. Both drivers were transported to Owatonna Hospital and survived the crash with non-life-threatening injuries. Alcohol wasn’t involved.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, there are approximately 7,000 deaths every year at unsignalized intersections and pedestrians only account for 1,000 of those deaths. For drivers, adhering to traffic laws and obeying installed signage can literally be a life and death matter at some intersections. The Minnesota driver behind the wheel of the Impala is lucky that his error didn’t cost him his life.