2 injured after SUV strikes MnDOT tractor off I-94 in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Two people were injured Wednesday after a car struck a tractor that was cutting grass off Interstate 94 in Minneapolis.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol, a Chevrolet Equinox was going south on Interstate 94 near the Dowling exit when it went off the road and hit a MnDOT tractor that was cutting the grass on the shoulder.

The driver of the Chevy, a 22-year-old woman, suffered non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the tractor, a 62-year-old man, also suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Officials say alcohol was not a factor in the collision.

Following crash, MnDOT officials urged drivers to abide by the law. The same state law that requires drivers move over for emergency vehicles, named for Trooper Ted Foss who was killed in 2000, also applies to MnDOT maintenance crews -- but too often drivers don’t give them room.

“We’re patching potholes, we’re fixing guardrail, we’re mowing, we’re clearing roadsides, picking up trash -- all kinds of things where we have crews out on the roadways doing things within feet of traffic that’s moving very quickly,” explains Kevin Gutknecht, MnDOT.

Gutknecht adds, “There’s going to be a lot of work like this taking place on our system. We have an aging system, we’ve talked about that many times and we need to be out there maintaining it.”