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| 2 die in fiery crash on US-8 |
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| Wednesday, 14 May 2008 | |
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Cliff Buchan News Editor As fire chiefs, Bruce Peterson of the Chisago City force and Gary Sigfrinius of the Forest Lake department, have seen their share of horrifying vehicle accidents. More than their share after last Friday night’s fiery crash on US-8 just east of James Avenue in Chisago City that claimed two lives. Both victims were trapped in their vehicles which were engulfed in flames when police and fire personnel arrived on the scene shortly before 8 p.m. The crash claimed the lives of James E. “Jesse” Selden II, 18, of Shafer, and Joseph H. Puckett, 49, of Phoenix, AZ. According to the Minnesota State Patrol, Selden’s 1992 GMC Jimmy was westbound on US-8 when it went over the center line and struck head-on the eastbound car transport semi-truck driven by Puckett. The collision was in the eastbound lane of US-8, emergency personnel said. Puckett’s trailer was carrying two cars. Peterson, the Chisago City fire chief, knew the crash was bad. He could see the smoke billowing into the sky as he left his home in Chisago City, just under five miles from the crash scene. “I could see black smoke in the air,” he said. “This is in my top 10 of worst crashes.” Sigfrinius echoed Peterson, saying the crash was one of the worst that he has been called to in his nearly 30 years of fire service. He was on the scene of a rollover on I-35 when the State Patrol was called to a report of a truck exploding on US-8, Sigfrinius said. Forest Lake fire sent two trucks to the scene to assist Chisago City. The Wyoming Fire Department provided mutual aid as well, officials said. Peterson said he arrived on the scene just behind officers from the Lakes Area Police Department that covers Chisago City. Both vehicles were fully engulfed in flames from the impact, Peterson said. Kevin Stinson, LAPD chief of police, said his agency has turned the investigation over to the Minnesota State Patrol. The chief said authorities in Chisago County had received a request from the public to check on the welfare of the Shafer youth after he had left a residence in Chisago City. On Monday, Chisago County Sheriff Todd Rivard said the call was logged at 7:53 p.m. by the county dispatch, some 12 minutes after the crash had taken place. The State Patrol logged the time of the crash at 7:41 p.m. Peterson, the incident commander on US-8, said his firefighters worked extensively to extricate the two bodies from the charred and crumpled vehicles. US-8 was also closed for several hours with vehicles routed around the scene through Wyoming Township and Chisago City roads. Social Bookmarking ...       |
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