According to the Stewartville Fire Department, a single-vehicle rollover crash occurred on June 15 around 5:20 a.m. near Stewartville, which is approximately 100 miles south of Minneapolis. A Kia Sorrento occupied by two males, 24 and 44, hydroplaned at the intersection of highways 30 west and 63 south. The Kia’s passenger, who was not specified in the news source, was taken to Mayo Clinic Hospital, Saint Mary’s Campus. The Minnesota State Patrol reported that the passenger did not have a seat belt on during the crash.
After the driver lost control of the vehicle, it fell roughly 100 feet down an embankment and landed on its top in almost two feet of water according to the report from the fire department. Although, the driver had to be extracted from the vehicle, the source did not report that he suffered any injuries.
The men told firefighters at the scene that they were on their way to the airport. They were primarily concerned that they were going to miss their flight after the accident according to fire department officials.
SUV rollovers are more likely to occur during inclement weather. Although the news source did not mention what the driving conditions were like at the time of the accident, the fact that the vehicle hydroplaned and landed in about two feet of water suggests that it might have been raining.
If it was, indeed, raining when the wreck happened, the injured passenger may have grounds for filing a personal injury suit against the driver. The driver may have failed to properly reduce the vehicle’s speed in light of the weather, which could be used as evidence of his negligence by the passenger’s attorney in a civil case.
Source: KTTC, “2 people involved in rollover crash were headed to Rochester airport“, June 22, 2014