FARGO — A week after a crash on Interstate 29 left one dead and another severely injured, the North Dakota Highway Patrol has released details about what led up to the collision.
The crash occurred about 3 p.m. Monday, Nov. 29, after a pickup truck pulling a trailer stopped in a southbound lane of I-29 at the 17th Avenue South overpass.
Initially, the North Dakota Highway Patrol was unsure why the truck and trailer were stopped in Lane 2 of the four-lane highway (Lane 1 is the far left lane). On Monday, Dec. 6, the agency said the trailer hitch separated from the ball, remaining attached only by safety chains.
The trailer began to sway, so both occupants of the truck, Clinton Juaire, 72, and Louise Juaire, 73, both of Mooreton, North Dakota, exited the vehicle to reattach the trailer, the patrol said.
An approaching SUV driven by 22-year-old Taylor Hemmesch, of Fargo, was unable to avoid the trailer and rear-ended it, pushing it and the truck forward. Hemmesch's vehicle came to rest on top of the empty flatbed trailer, the patrol said.
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Clinton Juaire suffered serious injuries and Louise Juaire suffered fatal injures, according to the patrol. Hemmesch was not injured and is not expected to face charges in the crash.
