An online video recorded by a Central Minnesota man is a great reminder about why you should know about the body of water you are driving on, and what dangers are possible.
The video captured a pickup slipping under the water of the St. Croiz River after breaking through thin ice, not too far from a water return. Jared Jose's video, which he took Saturday night around PM shows a dark-colored pickup truck sticking halfway into a hole on the St.
Croix River, as the video zooms out, you see the pickup slip under the ink-black water and out of view. Luckily everyone in the pickup could get out and get to safety before the truck sank. According to Jared, the pickup went in near a power plant that operates along the river, and has a water discharge canal in the area, discharging warm water from the power plant, causing thin ice and ice stability issues on the St. Croix in that immediate area. The nearby plant, the Allen S.
King Generating Plant , which is a coal-burning plant, is slated to be decommissioned in Minnesota Statute 86B. Removal must be completed within 30 days of the vehicle entering the water or being discovered in the water, unless the owner is notified in writing by the political subdivision having jurisdiction that the removal must be completed sooner. Upon request of the political subdivision the commissioner may extend the day time period for removal.
The owner shall report the date and the circumstances surrounding the submergence to the sheriff of the county where the body of water is located within 48 hours of the vehicle entering the water. The owner of the vehicle is subject to a civil penalty of not less than twice nor more than five times the costs incurred by the political subdivision to remove, process, and dispose of the vehicle.
