Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Flipped flatbed hauling bees slows I-90
A flatbed truck hauling bees and beehives rolled into the median of Interstate 90 this morning, nearly shutting down two lanes of traffic outside St. Charles, Minn.
The driver was trapped in the truck for a short time and was transported to a Rochester hospital by ambulance for unknown injuries. Further details about the driver were not immediately available.
The crash happened around 6:45 a.m. about six miles east of St. Charles. According to the Winona County Sheriff's Department, the bee truck was westbound on I-90 when the driver pulled into the left lane to pass a caravan hauling an oversized load. Chief Deputy Ron Ganrude said the driver performed the maneuver too quickly and the load shifted, causing the truck to roll "a couple of times" into the median.
Ganrude said passers-by tried to help the man out of the cab but there were too many bees swarming around for them to get to him. Eventually the driver managed to escape the truck and crawl to safety.
Broken beehives littered the westbound lanes, causing traffic to slow and pass on the shoulder, Ganrude said.
He said firefighters and area beekeepers were called to the scene to use their equipment to try and quell the "huge swarm" of bees. It was unclear how many bees the driver was hauling, but Ganrude said "there were bees everywhere."
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