Driver dies weeks after fiery crash between 2 semis on I-35 near Faribault
UPDATE (Aug. 3, 2023): One of the drivers in this crash has passed away. What follows is a revised version of the original story.
FARIBAULT, Minn. -- A man has died weeks after two semi-trucks slammed in mid-July on Interstate 35 in southern Minnesota.
One of the big rigs burst into flames just before noon on July 12 in a construction zone on the southbound side of the interstate, north of Faribault. The chaos closed the interstate for seven hours.
One of the drivers -- 79-year-old Dennis Brown from Sioux Falls, South Dakota -- was transported to Hennepin Healthcare with life-threatening injuries, the Minnesota State Patrol said. Keloland reports that Brown died on July 28. The other driver's condition is still unknown.
For the people forced to a complete stop on the highway while emergency crews responded -- this is not an experience they'll soon forget.
"I saw this big black cloud of smoke come up in front of me," said commuter Gary Will.
"We came to a complete stop. The smoke got really, really thick, really black," said commuter Dawn Gralish.
An air ambulance landed on the highway to lift out an injured semi driver.
People WCCO spoke to driving close behind the crash say mostly everyone shut their engines off to wait for first responders to do their work.
"Everybody was calm. Nobody seemed panicked or irritated by it. I think everybody was just very understanding of what was happening," Gralish said.
Nobody was able to move for at least an hour, until MnDOT gave drivers a way out of the standstill.
"You can turn around and go back to the crossover and that's what we did, otherwise I'd probably would still be on my way home right now," Will said.
