Abandoned Pickup Bursts into Flames After Being Hit by a Semi

Gif: Minnesota Department of Transportation via CBS Minnesota

If you’re driving along a highway and hit a deer, you might think you’ve had your fair share of bad luck for one day. But after getting out their truck following a collision with deer, one pickup owner in Minnesota then watched in horror as their truck was hit by a semi and burst into flames.

It’s a pretty intense crash to see, and it was all caught on tape by Minnesota Department of Transportation cameras on the I-35 highway.

According to the StarTribune in Minnesota, the driver of a red pickup was forced to abandon their truck at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning after striking a deer on the road near Forest Lake.

After leaving the paralyzed pickup in the highway’s middle lane and retreating to safety, a semi truck came careering into the back of the truck and makes no attempt to move out the way, despite the truck’s hazards flashing. The rear of the truck is destroyed, and it careens off into a barrier before bursting into flames.

The front of the semi is smashed up, and it comes to a halt on a grassy verge. Video of the collision was shared with CBS News by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Thankfully, the StarTribune reports that there were no injuries in the crash, despite how unbelievably bonkers it appears to onlookers.

The driver of the pickup was identified as Susan M. Norberg, 42, of Ramsey, and her retelling of the events sounds pretty shocking.

After the deer strike set of the pickup’s airbags, Norberg and her 12-year-old stepdaughter made a run for the safety barriers off to one side. She says that “minutes later” the truck hit her car and destroyed it.

Following the collision, Patrol Lt. Gordon Shank addressed the media about the incident but refused to say why the semi made no attempt to avoid the crash.

He told the StarTribune: “This is why we recommend that drivers practice good driving behaviors, such as putting distractions away and driving the speed limit. There can be vehicles, animals or debris in the roadway that can cause a traffic hazard.”