A Tuesday afternoon crash has sent three people to the hospital.
According to the Pine County Sheriff's Office, a van was traveling southbound on Highway 61 near Northridge Drive in Pine City when it went off the road and struck a tree. The van's driver and two passengers sustained serious but not life-threatening injuries requiring to be transported via helicopter to different hospitals in the Twin Cities.
As a Life Link Helicopter was landing at the scene, a truck pulling a trailer reportedly drove around the fire truck blocking Highway 61. The action caused the helicopter to abort its landing at the last minute, take off, and circle the area until safe to then land again.
A Pine County Sheriff's Deputy pulled the truck over, and a report has been sent to the Pine County Attorney's Office for appropriate charges to be filed.
No information on the victims has been released at this time.
Photography provided by the Pine County Sheriff's Office.