NARRATIVE: On November 23rd at 1:05 PM the North Dakota Department of Transportation was working on a cable median barrier on I-94 west bound near MM 335. The left westbound lane was closed, and traffic was being alerted by three advanced warning signs alerting traffic to the road work and lane closure. An additional DOT truck with attenuator trailer, along with an arrow board, was blocking the left lane of I-94 at the location of the roadwork to provide safety to the DOT workers. The plow had an arrow board. Another DOT pickup truck was in front of the plow with an additional arrow board to alert traffic to the road work being done to the median barrier.
A westbound traveling Cadilac Escalade being operated by Charles Hart a 62-year-old male from White Bear Lake, MN disregarded the advanced warning signs and failed to move out of the left lane of travel. The Escalade struck the back of the plow with attenuator, the Escalade then traveled west and struck the DOT pickup in front of the plow. The Escalade entered the media and pinned one of the DOT workers against the cable median barrier that was working on the median barrier at the time of the collision. The DOT worker sustained serious injuries as a result of being pinned against the cable median barrier. The injured DOT worker was identified as Ryan Jamieson a 46-year-old male of West Fargo, ND. Jamieson was freed from the median barrier by another DOT worker at the scene of the crash and was transported by Casselton ambulance to the Sanford Hospital. A juvenile passenger in the Cadilac sustained minor injuries as a result of the crash.
This crash investigation and any criminal charges remains under investigation by the North Dakota Highway Patrol. The NDHP was
assisted by the Cass County Sheriff’s Department, Casselton Fire Department and Casselton ambulance.
