4 from Blackduck Dead After Semi Crashes into Stopped Vehicles Near Floodwood

Four people from Blackduck died in a five-vehicle chain-reaction collision with a semi-truck Wednesday afternoon.

The crash happened on Highway 2 southeast of Floodwood in Arrowhead Township when the semi, at highway speeds, drove into a string of vehicles that were stopped for road construction.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol, 65-year-old Vincent Dow of Blackduck was driving an SUV that was stopped when the crash happened. He died following the collision, along with three passengers in his vehicle: 66-year-old Bonnie Dow, 9-year-old Hope Oakgrove, and 9-year-old Charlotte White.

A passenger in a different SUV, 84-year-old Sharon Burt, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, as did 45-year-old Aldo Hidalgo, who was the driver of another semi that was stopped.

The driver of the semi that slammed into the vehicles, 63-year-old Gregory Anwiler of Grand Rapids, also suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The State Patrol is continuing to investigate the crash.

Anwiler was also involved in another fatal collision near Hill City in December 2020. According to the State Patrol report in that crash, Michael Brandt of Deerwood died when his vehicle crossed the center line and made contact with the left side of the logging truck Anwiler was driving.

Following the crash, Anwiler was convicted for a misdemeanor for his vehicle exceeding its permitted weight by 13,920 lbs.