A Moorhead man was injured Sunday when the semitrailer he was driving in rural Clay County tipped over in a gravel-road ditch, trapping him inside, authorities said.
The name of the 18-year-old driver, who was taken by helicopter to MeritCare to treat leg injuries, was not available Sunday, said Sgt. Brian Norberg of the Clay County Sheriff's Department.
The accident happened at about 3:15 p.m. as the driver was heading south on County Road 19 about a mile north of Averill, Minn., Norberg said. The semitrailer went into the ditch on the west side of the road and tipped over, pinning the driver's side of the cab toward the ground and spilling the corn being hauled all over the road.
It took rescuers from Felton, Moorhead and Glyndon, as well as Clay County, about 2½ hours to free the driver from the cab using hydraulic extrication tools and tow trucks.
Norberg said the driver was conscious and alert enough to call family on his cell phone.
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Though a dusting of snow coated the region the night before, road conditions aren't believed to be a factor in the crash, Norberg said.
County Road 19 curves at the site of the accident, which Norberg suspects might have played a part in the crash.
"I'm thinking he kind of missed the jog," he said.
