North Shore Tunnel Crash Leaves Worker, Driver Critically Injured

Jun 19

*The entrance to the Lafayette Bluff Tunnel near Two Harbors.* *Via* ***Wikimedia Commons***

A construction worker and a van driver were airlifted with life-threatening injuries Wednesday afternoon after a crash along Highway 61 in Lake County.

The crash happened around 3:58 p.m. in Silver Creek Township, inside the Lafayette Bluff Tunnel, where a single-lane construction zone was in place.

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According to initial information from the Minnesota State Patrol, a 2005 Daimler Chrysler Sprinter van was headed northbound when it entered the closed lane of the tunnel, striking multiple orange barrels before crashing into an elevated scissor lift.

Two workers were on the extended lift when the van struck it. One worker, identified as 37-year-old Bradley Nicholas Kostiuk of Duluth, managed to grab onto a ceiling lighting fixture and pull himself up as the lift collapsed beneath him. The second worker, 27-year-old Benjamin John Kidd, also of Duluth, fell with the lift to the ground.

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Kidd and the van’s driver, 34-year-old Patches Magickbeans of Milwaukee, Wisconsin suffered life-threatening injuries and were transported by EMS helicopter to Essentia Hospital in Duluth. Kostiuk was treated at the scene for minor injuries and did not require transport to the hospital.

State Patrol officials said Magickbeans was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. Alcohol involvement is unknown as of publication. Road conditions were dry at the time.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and MnDOT also responded to the crash. The incident remains under investigation. Authorities have not said what may have led the van into the closed construction zone.

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