VIRGINIA – The driver of an advertising truck delivering explosive materials to an Iron Range mine admitted to turning in front of an oncoming vehicle, killing the other driver.
A criminal complaint says Rahn had alcohol in his formula at the time, even though it was under the legal limit. He reportedly told police that the twist of fate was his fault because he mistakenly believed Jurek was turning.
According to the complaint:
Rahn called 911 just after 6 a.m. to report he had been involved in a two-vehicle crash on Park Ridge Drive and that the other driver was unresponsive.
Upon arrival, St. Louis County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched. Louis discovered Jurek, 44, of Keewatin, trapped in the driver’s seat of his pickup truck. First responders provided him with medical attention but pronounced him dead at the scene.
Rahn, who toured, described it as “very emotional. “He said he arrived from Austin Powder Mining in Hibbing with a shipment of ammonium explosives, adding ammonium nitrate.
An MP noticed a “moderate odor of an alcoholic beverage” and Rahn admitted to having eaten 3 glasses of rum and Coca-Cola the night before, the last one around 10-10:30 p. m.
An initial breathalyzer check showed a blood alcohol point of 0. 03 and a blood pattern sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension recorded a blood alcohol concentration of 0. 028. That’s below the 0. 04 threshold for advertising drivers, according to state law and federal regulations.
Rahn, who was taken to Essentia Health-Virginia with non-life-threatening injuries, filed charges via summons last week. He is accused of causing Jurek’s death by “driving a vehicle in an extremely negligent manner. “
The defendant, who has no obvious criminal history, was ordered to appear in state district court for the first time on Feb. 16.
Ammonium nitrate is a common fertilizer and a component of explosive mixtures used in mining operations. No hazardous materials were dumped at the crash site, the sheriff previously said.
St. Louis County mine inspector Derek Harbin said the incident triggered a preliminary investigation but it was ultimately determined not to fall within the agency’s scope as it “did not involve a mine employee and did not occur on mine property or in an area directly impacted by active mine activities.”
This story was updated at 4:50 p.m. Feb. 8 with information from St. Louis County mine inspector Derek Harbin. It was originally posted at 3 p.m. Feb. 8.