Services are scheduled this week for a pickup truck driver who died after striking a semitrailer truck as the big rig was backing out of a driveway in Wright County, authorities said.
The collision before dawn last Thursday killed Robert J. Olson, 67, of Monticello, the Wright County Sheriff's Office said.
Law enforcement and other emergency responders were on the scene for several hours investigating the crash and removing the wreckage, forcing traffic to other routes.
According to the Sheriff's Office:
The semi was backing out of a residential driveway about 5:25 a.m. on County Road 39 NE., just east of Monticello, when Olson's eastbound pickup hit the trailer. A second vehicle behind Olson's also hit the trailer.
Emergency responders pronounced Olson dead at the scene. The driver of the second vehicle that struck the trailer was not hurt. The semi truck's driver was taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries.
Olson leaves behind a wife of 44 years and two sons. Services are scheduled for Thursday at St. Henry's Catholic Church in Monticello. Olson, who served in the Navy, will be buried at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery in Little Falls, Minn., on Friday.
PAUL WALSH
