Semi truck rolls over, narrowly missing gas station in Taylors Falls

TAYLORS FALLS, Minn. (FOX 9) - Surveillance video captured a close call at a busy intersection in Taylors Falls, Minnesota as a semi truck lost control and rolled over, narrowly missing a gas station.

Tuesday morning, the semi truck was coming down a hill at the intersection of Highway 8 and Highway 95 near the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. Video showed the semi swerved across lanes, barely missing traffic. The driver attempted to control the truck, but the cab rolled one and half times, sending dirt flying and people running.   

“It was really a sight to see, it could have been really dangerous with the gas right here,” said Tony Ammann, a witness.

Ammann saw the truck right after the crash happened. 

“My God the kind of tragedy that could have happened,” he said. “I mean the whole station could have gone up.”

According to the crash report from Minnesota State Patrol, the semi truck driver told troopers his “brakes faded” as he approached the red light and he had to “swerve around the traffic that was stopped.” The driver tried to make a right turn, but failed.  

Ammann says the area is busy with semis; he often sees and smells them coming down the big hill on Highway 8 all the time.

“I smell their brakes,” he said. “They’re downshifting and using their brakes a lot, you can smell it,” he said. “Probably riding their brakes and trying to downshift to the lowest gear possible.”

At the hill, the speed limit reduces from 45 mph to 30 mph. Truck drivers are warned ahead of time of the steep grade. 

The crash report does not list speed as a factor, listing only the driver’s reported issue with the brakes.

The driver was taken to the hospital. His injuries are not believed to be severe.

The crash investigation is ongoing.