Driver Arrested After Striking MnDOT Worker
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A worker with the Minnesota Department of Transportation is being treated at North Memorial Hospital after he was hurt on the job.
Sixty-one-year-old Kenneth Moreau was clearing debris on Interstate 94, around 7:30 p.m. Sunday night, when a car crashed into him.
Authorities arrested 24-year-old Jared Magnuson in the incident. He now faces several different charges.
On I-94 near 42nd Avenue North in Minneapolis, traffic moves at an uninterrupted pace.
Monday traffic is a much different scene compared to Sunday night, when a crash brought four lanes down to one.
"There was a mattress in the lane that had come off a vehicle," said Lt. Eric Roeske, with the Minnesota State Patrol.
Longtime MnDOT worker, Moreau, went to clear that mattress off the freeway.
In his effort to keep other drivers safe, the 61-year-old wound up in the hospital.
According to Roeske, he was hit by a driver who wasn't supposed to be on the road.
"When troopers responded, they found he had a number of violations, especially with driving," Lt. Roeske said.
Troopers arrested Magnuson at the scene. His biggest offense was not the actual crash, but his canceled driver's license. Magnuson has a criminal history that includes drunk driving convictions. He also faces charges for not having insurance, giving false information to police, careless driving and having an open bottle in the vehicle.
"The arrest was for the driver's license, insurance and other violations associated with fact he was driving when he shouldn't have been," Lt. Roeske said.
But according to Lt. Roeske, this crash also speaks to a safety risk law enforcement see every day. Drivers often fail to move over when they see flashing lights, a violation of the Move Over law.
"Move out of the way so they can take care of their business and get home safely at the end of their shift," he said.
Lt. Roeske also wants drivers to remember to make sure any load they're carrying on their vehicle is secure. If that mattress hadn't fallen off a car, the MnDOT worker wouldn't have been on the freeway.
