One driver cited, another arrested after Todd Twp. crash

A Park Rapids man was cited for driving after suspension and an Osage woman was arrested for multiple driving violations after a two-vehicle crash Feb. 9 in Todd Township.

According to a Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office incident report, a rollover accident with injury was reported at 6:08 p.m. on State Hwy. 34 near 119th Avenue, west of Park Rapids.

Responding law enforcement found a 2007 Chevy Impala resting on its roof in the westbound lane of Hwy. 34 with no one inside, and a 2005 Ford F-250 attached to a trailer hauling an unsecured load of trees, stumps and wood.

The driver of the Impala was identified as Michael Arvik, 29, of Park Rapids. Arvik told law enforcement he was driving west on Hwy. 34 to his workplace in Osage at about 60 mph when he saw a large amount of branches in the roadway. The Impala then collided with an unknown object and flipped over on the roadway. Arvik was wearing his seat belt at the time, the report states.

Upon exiting the vehicle, Arvik said, he saw he had struck a trailer attached to a pickup that had been parked on the roadway with no lights on. Arvik said he may have briefly looked down at his radio but recalled that when he saw branches on the roadway, there were no lights on the trailer and it was very dark.

Arvik complained of a lump on the back of his head and of head pain, the report states. North Memorial Ambulance personnel evaluated Arvik at the scene and transported him to the hospital, where it was later revealed that Arvik had sustained a concussion. He was cited for driving after suspension of his driver’s license.

The occupants of the F-250 were identified as driver Amanda Cooper, 35, of Osage; passenger Steffan Peters, 36, of Osage; and an unnamed 7-year-old male.

Cooper told law enforcement she had been driving west on Hwy. 34 when she lost power and lights to her vehicle and trailer. She stopped on the roadway, in the westbound lane, with no lights on.

Cooper said while Peters was attempting to jump-start the pickup, the Impala struck her trailer, described as a long flat-bed parked in the traffic lane with no tail lights on and no registration anywhere on it. None of the trailer’s load of trees, stumps and wood was strapped down or secured in any way, the report states.

While Cooper looked for her insurance and registration information, law enforcement noticed she had watery eyes, dilated pupils and quick movements, the report states. Her performance in field sobriety tests showed signs of controlled substance use, as well as a blue residue observed in Cooper’s right nostril. She was arrested for criminal vehicular operation and transported to CHI St. Joseph’s Health, where a search warrant was served and a blood sample was collected for analysis.

Cooper was transported to the Hubbard County jail on charges of criminal vehicular operation, having no registration on the trailer, transporting an unsecured load and operating with unsafe equipment. Also, a social services abuse/neglect form was filed for the incident.