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Towers Struck: 05.16.22 (MN) "Updated 03.01.23"


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2 tow truck workers injured after hit and run on I-35 in southern Minnesota

 

 

RICE COUNTY, Minn. - Two tow truck operators were struck by a vehicle on I-35 on Monday morning, and a search is underway to find the driver responsible.

 

The Minnesota State Patrol said it happened just before 2 a.m. at milemarker 74when the tow truck operators were working in the left lane to remove a vehicle.

 

“The vehicle did not stop and continued northbound from the scene. The Minnesota State Patrol is trying to locate a 2006 Lincoln MKZ that is black in color. The damage to the Lincoln will be on the driver's side door and is missing the driver's side mirror. If you have any information please contact the Minnesota State Patrol at 507-285-7409,” the state patrol said.

 

Both workers suffered non-life-threatening injuries. 

 

 

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WEBSTER TOWNSHIP, Minn. (KTTC) – The Minnesota State Patrol is looking for a vehicle that allegedly hit two tow truck operators and left the scene.

 

According to the Minnesota State Patrol (MSP), the tow truck operators were working in the left lane to get a vehicle out of the center median from I-35 north when a vehicle went by and hit them. The vehicle did not stop and continued northbound.

 

It happened at 1:53 a.m. Monday near mile marker 74, about five miles north of the Flying J Travel Center.

 

Troopers said the car involved is a black 2006 Lincoln MKZ, with damage on the driver’s side door and a missing drivers side mirror.

 

Anyone with information is asked to contact MSP at 507-285-7409.

 

Both of the tow truck operators had non-life threatening injuries.

 

Michael Sirek, 39, of Faribault, was taken to Allina Health Faribault Medical Center and Parker Swanson was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center.

 

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A message found posted by Parker Swanson: 05.16.22 at 3:25pm

 

Thank you for all the people that reached out last night was definitely a life altering advent for those who don't know I was struck by a vehicle on 35 while recovering a camper and truck that was rolled in the ditch didn't have time to react heard a screach then got hit from behind by a driver not paying attention they have not found them yet suffered a mild concussion and dislocated ankle and maybe some ligament damage on my right ankle and a lot of bruising and swelling but to walk away with my life is still amazing and like to think Don was up there watching over me and mike last night please watch out for emergency vehicles on the side of the road one split second can change everything for someone and thank you to Minnesota State Patrol and Rice County Sheriffs abs the doctors at hennipen medical center for the immediate help now to the road back to recovery!

 

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Suspect vehicle located in hit-and-run that hurt 2 tow truck drivers

 

05.17.22

(FOX 9) - The suspect vehicle believed to be involved in a hit-and-run that injured two tow truck drivers on Interstate 35 early Monday morning has been located. 

 

The Minnesota State Patrol on Tuesday said the vehicle, which was described as a Lincoln MKZ, has been located, noting this is an "open and active investigation." It's unclear if the suspected driver has been arrested. 

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State Patrol arrests man suspected of hitting 2 tow truck operators

 

A 39-year-old Lakeville man was charged with two counts of criminal vehicular operation in connection to the Rice County crash.

 

RICE COUNTY, Minn. — The Minnesota State Patrol has arrested a man suspected of hitting two tow truck operators Monday morning and driving off. 

 

According to a criminal complaint, 39-year-old Marlon Fleming, of Lakeville, is charged with two counts of criminal vehicular operation.

 

The May 16 hit-and-run incident happened just before 2 a.m. in the northbound lanes of Interstate 35, just south of Lakeville in Rice County.

Troopers said the two tow truck operators were working to remove a vehicle from the center median of I-35 when they were hit by a driver of a black Lincoln MKZ. The tow truck had its emergency lights flashing at the time of the crash, as did a State Patrol vehicle that was at the scene, according to a criminal complaint.

 

Both tow truck operators are from Faribault: One, a 39-year-old man, was transported to Allina Health Faribault Medical Center while a 23-year-old man was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center. Both had extensive but non-life threatening injuries.

 

According to the criminal complaint, Kevin Fleming called state patrol the night of May 16 and said his son, Marlon Fleming, was driving a black Lincoln MKZ and was the person that struck the two tow truck operators. Kevin Fleming told troopers that when his son returned home with the MKZ early Tuesday morning, the vehicle was damaged, the complaint said. After Kevin Fleming called Lakeville police, Marlon was arrested.

 

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Charges: Driver arrested in Minnesota tow truck crash turned in by his dad

 

(FOX 9) - A 39-year-old Lakeville man has been arrested, accused of hitting two tow truck drivers with a car and fleeing the scene, the Minnesota State Patrol said Wednesday. 

 

According to the State Patrol's report, two tow truck operators were working to remove a vehicle from the center median of northbound Interstate 35 in Webster Township, Rice County, at 1:53 a.m. Monday when a vehicle drove by, hitting the tow truck operators.

 

Both tow truck operators suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

 

Charges show Marlon Fleming, of Lakeville, has been charged with two counts of criminal vehicular operation. His vehicle was identified as a Lincoln MKZ on Tuesday. 

 

The crash is still under investigation, the State Patrol says.

 

How troopers made an arrest

 

In the criminal complaint filed against Fleming, investigators say it was Fleming's father that helped expedite an arrest.

 

After the crash, troopers collected evidence at the scene – including a side mirror, door handles, and the bezel for the keypad entry system. From the parts, investigators were able to determine the striking vehicle had been a Lincoln MKZ.

 

The next day, after the tow truck crash made the news, police got a tip from Fleming's father. The charges state:

 

Trooper Ignaszewski spoke to Mr. Fleming [the father] who stated that on May 15, 2022, he returned home at approximately 11:30 p.m. and noticed the MKZ was gone. Mr. Fleming then called [Marlon Fleming] and told him to bring the vehicle home.  Mr. Fleming stated that Defendant was drunk and belligerent at the time of the phone call. Mr. Fleming stated [Marlon Fleming] arrived home at 1:30 a.m. and Mr. Fleming noticed the damaged to the MKZ. [Marlon Fleming] told Mr. Fleming that he was texting and sideswiped a car. Mr. Fleming called Lakeville Police and [Marlon Fleming] was arrested.

 

Upon seeing the damage to the MKZ, police were able to determine the parts found at the scene matched the Flemings' vehicle. Troopers say the door handle still had blue jean strands hanging from it.

 

When police arrested Fleming, they say he was intoxicated. He was taken to the hospital to be medically cleared to be brought in, which is protocol. At the hospital, troopers say Fleming told them: "I will say this though, I did not hit those people, I did not. Maybe I sideswiped the truck or the trailer, but the people no, I did not do that at all."

 

According to the charges, Fleming later added: "My father he told me about that story today, about two guys getting hit on 35W [sic], and I was like no that was not me, and then just kinda thinking about it, I was like, oh my god, that probably was me, and I felt like shit."

 

After being cleared by the hospital, troopers say Fleming made one more comment while being taken to jail: "When I was on my phone, I looked up, that’s when I saw you and I kinda swerved over, I apologize about that."

 

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Marlon Fleming Charged With Hitting 2 Tow Truck Operators On I-35

 

WEBSTER TOWNSHIP, Minn. (WCCO) — A man accused of hitting two tow truck employees on a highway in southern Minnesota was turned in to police by his father, charges state.

 

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Marlon Fleming is charged with one felony counts of criminal vehicular operation, one a felony and one a misdemeanor, according to Rice County court documents.

 

A criminal complaint states a Minnesota State Patrol trooper was at the scene of a rollover crash on Interstate 35 in Rice County Sunday night when he saw a car drive past “and come within inches of hitting his squad.”

 

The driver continued on, and the trooper said he saw the driver hit two tow truck employees who were clearing the rollover crash. Both men were hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening.

 

The driver did not stop after hitting the men, according to the complaint, and left debris from the vehicle at the scene. The trooper identified the car as a Lincoln MKZ based on his squad car’s video.

 

On Monday night, a man called dispatch to report his son — Fleming — was the driver who hit the tow truck operators. Fleming’s father said he had called his son Sunday night and told him to bring the Lincoln home. Fleming was “drunk and belligerent” during the call, the compliant states.

 

Fleming returned home around 1:30 a.m. Monday. When his father saw the damage to the car, Fleming said he was texting and sideswiped another vehicle. Fleming’s father called police, who arrested Fleming.

 

Fleming was impaired when he was arrested, the complaint states, and was taken to a hospital to be medically cleared for jail. While at the hospital, he allegedly denied hitting the tow truck operators before admitting it may have been him.

 

“My father he told me about that story today, about two guys getting hit on 35W, and I was like no that was not me, and then just kinda thinking about it, I was like, oh my god, that probably was me,” he said, according to the complaint.

 

Fleming also allegedly told an officer he was on his phone during the incident.

 

An examination of the Lincoln showed damage consistent with the debris found at the scene, the complaint states.

 

Fleming is in custody.

 

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  • 9 months later...

Updated 03.01.23:

 

Faribault, MN (KROC-AM News) - A tentative plea agreement has been worked out in the case of a Minnesota man accused of injuring two men in a hit-and-run last year that was witnessed by a State Trooper.

 

A Petition to Enter Guilty plea has been filed in Rice County Court by 39-year-old Marlon Fleming. It states that the Lakeville man has agreed to a "straight plea," which means he will admit to two counts of criminal vehicular operation without a recommendation or agreement concerning his sentence.

 

Fleming was arrested last May after the vehicle he was driving struck and injured a pair of tow truck operators who were working to remove a pickup truck and a camper from the median along northbound I-35 in the Northfield area. The two Faribault men, 39-year-old Michael Sirek and 23-year-old Parker Swanson, were taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

 

The criminal complaint against Fleming alleges he then drove away from the scene. The State Trooper who witnessed the incident was parked behind the tow truck with his emergency lights activated and a directional arrow on his squad car illuminated to warn other motorists of the danger.

 

The charges also stated that investigators were able to identify Fleming as the hit-and-run driver because his father turned him in after Fleming brought the damaged car back to his father's home. In the statement to investigators, the father described Fleming as "drunk and belligerent."
 

The court document also indicates the trooper who witnessed the car striking the tow truck operators later transported Fleming to a hospital to be checked out because of the level of his impairment. While at the hospital, Fleming told the trooper he was distracted by his phone and that his father had told him "about two guys getting hit on 35W, and I was like no that was not me, and then just kinda thinking about it, I was like, oh my God, that probably was me."

 

A plea hearing for Fleming has yet to be scheduled. He remains free without bail, but with conditions set by the court.

 

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