Three Crashes Involving Snowplows in Three Hours

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is reminding motorists to be extra cautious in the vicinity of snowplows after a rough morning for MNDOT snowplow operators in southeastern Minnesota.

Officials say three of the department’s snowplows were involved in traffic crashes during a three-hour period while crews were clearing snow from roads in the region.

A Rochester woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries in one of the crashes. The State Patrol says 24-year-old Rachel Aaby of Rochester was transported to St. Mary’s Hospital after the car she was driving crashed into the back of a MNDOT snowplow on Highway 14 near Byron shortly before 10:20 a.m.

Another car rear-ended a snowplow on Highway 56 east of Dennison in Goodhue County and a semi-truck was involved in a collision with a plow on I-90 west of Austin. No injuries were reported in those incidents.

Officials say reduced visibility was a factor in some of the crashes.