By Jean Doran Matua, Editor
On Friday night, June 14, I noticed a helicopter flying over our house, headed south. I quickly grabbed the police scanner I have at home to see what was happening. Bits and pieces came over the scanner for what seemed like two or three hours. We do have a report from the Stearns County Sheriff’s Department, although it is still under investigation and more information will be forthcoming. Here’s what we do know.
At around 9:30 p.m. Friday night, two men were in a car on County Road 150 near the Kimball Golf Club. The car went off the road, hit a utility pole and rolled over several times. One of the occupants was killed, the other fled into the woods. A state patrol helicopter equipped with an infrared camera searched the woods and finally found the surviving occupant of the car.
Jimmie Morley, Jr., died at the scene; he was 34 years old. Benjamin Schaaf from Dassel was taken to St. Cloud Hospital for treatment of his injuries.
Responding to the accident were the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office, Kimball Rescue, Kimball Police, Watkins Ambulance, Minnesota State Patrol, Minnesota DNR, and Life Link helicopter.
Stearns County Sheriff Jim Kostreba said Tuesday that they are waiting for the medical examiner’s report before releasing any more information, including who was driving the car and any possible reasons the car went off the road. This report could take four weeks.
We will publish more information about this tragic accident as it becomes available.