2 MnDOT Workers Injured In Work Zone Crash
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Two employees of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) are in the hospital – one in serious condition – after a work zone crash in Burnsville Sunday afternoon.
According to the Minnesota State Patrol, the MnDOT workers were in a truck placing cones for a lane closure on northbound Interstate 35W when a driver in a 2002 Hyundai Elentra swerved for an unknown reason and struck their truck.
The two workers, identified as 57-year-old Dennis Scott of Rockford and 43-year-old Ronald McDeid of Champlin, were taken to area hospitals. McDeid was seriously injured while Scott suffered non-life threatening injuries.
"Every day, our employees put on their boots and hard hats and work to make the roads safer for motorists," said Sue Mulvihill, MnDOT Deputy Commisioner and Chief Engineer. "It is critical that drivers remember that public employees have a right to return home safely to their families at the end of their shift."
The driver who hit the MnDOT truck, identified as a 25-year-old man from Mound, wasn't injured.
MnDOT says the lane was being closed to give workers room to build a dike to prevent the road from flooding.
The Minnesota State Patrol is investigating the cause of the crash.