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Thursday, August 2, 2007
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Man arrested after fatal crash In another accident, semi collides with car; load of 20 tons of tires burns Staff Writer BACKUS - A Walker man was arrested Wednesday after the sports utility vehicle he was driving near Backus left Highway 371 and collided with a stand of pine trees, killing his passenger.
Wesley Armstrong, 23, Walker, was arrested on probable cause for domestic assault and is being held in the Cass County jail pending review of possible formal criminal charges from the Cass County attorney's office, Brainerd State Patrol Capt. Mark Jonassen said.
About 1:40 p.m., Armstrong was driving north on 371 when his SUV went out of control, veered off the right side of the highway, went through the ditch and came to rest on its side wedged between several trees, said State Patrol Trooper T.J. Murphy.
The female passenger, whose name was not released Wednesday afternoon, was pronounced dead at the scene. Armstrong was treated at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Brainerd, released into law enforcement custody and placed in jail. A 5-year-old child in the SUV, Anton Charfaurus, also of Walker, was not injured.
Jonassen declined to elaborate what domestic situation was believed to have occurred in the SUV before the crash. He said the crash is being investigated.
"Until all statements are in we'd hesitate to say anything because we haven't heard everybody's story," Jonassen said.
Backus firefighters responded and extricated the victims from the SUV. The Cass County Sheriff's Department, the Backus Emergency Medical Team and the Backus Police Department assisted.
About the same time as the Backus fatal crash, troopers from the Brainerd State Patrol also responded to a two-vehicle collision between a semi-truck and a car on Highway 169, about six miles south of Onamia.
The semi-truck, driven by Bryan Cherrier, 42, Inver Grove Heights, was traveling southbound on Highway 169 when a car driven by Patrick Nelson, 24, Elk River, swerved into its path, striking the semi-truck head on.
Nelson escaped the collision with a hip fracture and head injury. He was transported to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale.
The fuel tank on Cherrier's semi-truck burst into flames, scorching both vehicles as well as 20 tons of used tires Cherrier was hauling, Jonassen said.
The burning tires sent a large plume of black smoke into the air, Jonassen said, and hazardous material crews from the Minnesota Department of Transportation and other state agencies responded. The southbound lane of Highway 169 was detoured for a time, and visibility was poor in the northbound lanes, Jonassen said.
Why Nelson swerved into the path of the semi-truck is being investigated, Jonassen said.
MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.
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