Target Truck Loses Control, Slides into Pond off I-94 Near Albertville

Friday morning's commute was brought to a screeching halt around 6:15 a.m. when a semi driver and his rig left the road, crashed through a series of fences and sank through an icy pond.

The crash, which happened near mile marker 197 on Interstate 94, according to the Minnesota Highway Patrol, started in the eastbound lane. But driver John Netiffee of Anoka was able to avoid the westbound lanes of traffic and skidded his rig across several hundred yards of ice before it sank into the freezing water.

Netiffe climbed out of his truck and onto the ice, making his way to safety, Patrol Lt. Eric Roeske said.

Target employees at the Rogers store did not know if the truck was headed to their location, or even if it was hauling freight at the time. It could have been making its way back from a delivery.

Target Corporate in Minneapolis also has yet to identify the truck's route for Friday morning or where it was in its delivery schedule.

Netiffee, 35, was treated at New River Medical Center in Monticello and released for minor injuries.

The truck settled in about seven feet of water and was removed from the pond in stages Friday. At 10 a.m., it was still in the pond as highway workers began to devise a plan. WCCO Television has video of the truck in the water this morning.

Westbound traffic was at a crawl much of the morning as highway patrol investigators reconstructed the scene. Traffic was moving freely by noon.

Mile marker 197 is about four miles west of the Albertville County Road 19 exit.