Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Nathan Beals' 2002 Ford Focus was totaled in the crash.
At approximately 4:47 p.m. on Friday, March 4, law enforcement officers from the North Dakota Highway Patrol (NDHP) and Foster County Sheriff's Office responded to a two vehicle collision north of Carrington.
According to Capt. Bryan Niewind, Southeast Region Commander for the NDHP, the accident occured on Hwy. 281, near mile marker 116.
Jeremy Trostad, 41, of Carrington was traveling southbound with a group of vehicles, when he lost control on a patch of ice and entered the northbound lane. 26-year-old Nathan Beals of New Rockford was traveling northbound on Hwy. 281, and the two vehicles collided.
Following the collision, Beals' vehicle spun into the west ditch where it came to a stop, while Trostad's car came to rest on the southbound shoulder. Neither driver was injured as both were wearing their seatbelt, and airbags were deployed.
Beals told the Transcript on Tuesday that his 2002 Ford Focus was totaled in the accident, adding that he hit Trostad's Acura nearly head-on at approximately 65 mph.
"One of them ... his back end was kind of wiggling," said Beals as he described the group of cars he was fast approaching. "Then I saw the car behind him come out into my lane, and we hit."
Trostad was cited for "care required" as a result of the accident.
According to NDHP monthly activity reports, this winter has been particularly dangerous for motorists in North Dakota. In January 2021, the number of crashes investigated by the NDHP reached 338, 64 of which resulted in injuries and another nine were fatal.
In October, before the winter weather rolled in, that number stood at just 93. Sergeant Wade Kadrmas, a safety and education officer with the NDHP, told the Transcript on Wednesday that the number of vehicle accidents historically spikes during the winter months, and 2021-22 is no different.
In fact, the northern Red River Valley has had more blizzards this winter (11 as of Friday, March 4), than any other on record, leading to large pile ups on the interstate, cars in ditches, and plenty of property damage.
