Winter Storm Leads to Over a Dozen Crashes in Rochester
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A major winter storm brought heavy snowfall and slick travel conditions to Rochester this week.
The National Weather Service received a report of 8 inches of snow in southeast Rochester Thursday afternoon. Many areas across Rochester picked up at least 6 inches of new snow.
The snow storm also caused havoc on Rochester-area roads. The Rochester Police Department reported officers responded to 21 crashes between Wednesday and Friday morning. Captain Casey Moilanen said none of the crashes involved serious injuries.
The snow storm blanked southern Minnesota and led to over 100 crashes across the state. Three crashes in southeast Minnesota involved injury, including one in Mower County where a semi-truck rolled over on I-90. The truckdriver was hospitalized with what were described as non-life-threatening injuries.
The two other injury crashes in southeast Minnesota Thursday occurred within 20 minutes of each other in Rice County. The first injury crash, reported west of Kenyon on Hwy. 60, occurred shortly before 6:30 p.m. The State Patrol says a vehicle, driven by 21-year-old Briauna Boettcher of Faribault, went off the road and rolled into the ditch. She was brought to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The second crash in Rice County led to injuries for three Lonsdale residents. The State Patrol says two vehicles traveling in opposite directions collided on Hwy. 19 about a mile east of Lonsdale. 37-year-old Cash Ozum, 55-year-old Juventino Gonzalezpa and 53-year-old Maria Beatriz Quiroz Andrade were brought to a Northfield hospital with what were described as non-life-threatening injuries.
The State Patrol reported 116 crashes statewide between 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and 11:30 a.m. Thursday. None of the 10 injury crashes reported were fatal. 198 vehicles spin outs and five jack-knifed semis were reported during that span.