Photo Credit: Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office

UPDATE:

On July 1, 2021, at 5:43 PM, the Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a vehicle crash on Hubbard County Road 3 in Lake Hattie Township. The reporting party further reported that a vehicle had gone into the ditch, was injured, and the area had started on fire. Hubbard County Deputies, medical personnel, and the Bemidji Fire Department responded.

When deputies arrived on the scene, they found the vehicle fully engulfed in flames. The driver, 51-year old David John of Lino Lakes, MN, was sitting on the side of the road with obvious facial injuries. The investigation showed that John was traveling north on County Road 3 in a 1978 Ford Bronco when he drove around a curve and then lost control of his vehicle. The vehicle entered the ditch where it crashed and then caught on fire.

A witness that was following John reported that he had been driving fast, swerving, and driving erratically prior to crashing. The driver admitted to being at multiple bars where he had been drinking. A preliminary breath test administered by the deputy sheriff on scene indicated that John’s blood alcohol was at .138, above the legal limit of .08.

The Bemidji Fire Department arrived on the scene and extinguished the fire.

David John was transported to Sanford Bemidji Medical Center in Bemidji to be treated for his injuries. A search warrant was obtained to get a sample of the driver’s blood for further alcohol testing. Those results are pending analysis by the BCA lab.

Original Story Reported on Friday, July 2:

A man was pulled from a burning vehicle seconds before it was engulfed in flames Thursday south of Becida on County Road 3. Responders at the scene say the woman who pulled him from the wreck likely saved his life.

Yesterday, just before 6 PM, two employees of Precision Pipeline witnessed a vehicle lose control at a fast speed and then veer off of the road and become airborne after it hit a driveway, eventually smashing the front of the vehicle and starting a fire. The workers quickly jumped in and dragged the man away from the vehicle, which then burst into higher flames.

After the car had been extinguished, firefighters told the employees that their quick thinking had saved the man’s life. The man was responsive following the accident and was given first aid at the scene.

By — Chris Burns