Driver Stopping For Ducks Blamed For Big Crash West of Rochester (UPDATE)
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The crash that shut down westbound Highway 14 just west of Rochester late Thursday afternoon was apparently caused by some ducks on the roadway.
The State Patrol says 50-year-old Jodie Starch triggered the chain reaction crash involving five vehicles when she stopped her pickup in the left lane of the highway for the waterfowl. By the time the multiple vehicle crash ended, her vehicle was on its side and tangled with two of the other vehicles involved.
The State Patrol says Starch and the drivers of three of the other vehicles were not hurt. The two occupants of a car that was involved, 80-year-old Rex and 78-year-old Sharon Schmidt of Bloomington were transported to St. Marys Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The crash was reported around 4:10 PM near the intersection of Highway 14 and 60th Avenue Northwest.
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Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The State Patrol is at the scene of a multi-vehicle crash just west of Rochester that has snarled traffic on westbound Highway 14.
Preliminary reports indicate at least four vehicles were involved in the crash near the exit to the Leashes and Leads business. Three of the vehicles were left tangled together along the left shoulder and the median, including a pickup truck that was tipped on its side. A fourth vehicle was spotted in the ditch to the right of the westbound lanes of Highway 14.
It’s not yet known if there were any serious injuries.