Wright County, MN — June 26, 2025, Justin Prepodnik was injured in a truck accident at about 9:45 a.m. at Dempsey Avenue Southwest and County Road 107.
Authorities said an eastbound Nissan Versa collided with a trailer being pulled by a southbound Peterbilt semi-truck at the intersection. The car became wedged under the trailer and was dragged until the semi rolled into a ditch. The Nissan also caught fire after the crash.
Nissan driver Justin Prepodnik of Buffalo was airlifted to a Minneapolis hospital with serious injuries after the crash, according to authorities.
A sheriff’s deputy who responded to the crash also was hospitalized with minor injuries, including smoke inhalation, while the truck driver was not injured, authorities said.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the Wright County crash. The accident is still under investigation.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
When people hear about a crash where a small car ends up pinned beneath a semi-trailer, gets dragged across an intersection and then catches fire, they’re naturally going to ask: How does something like that happen? Was someone not paying attention? Did the truck driver fail to yield? Could this have been prevented?
From what’s been reported so far, an eastbound Nissan Versa collided with a trailer being pulled by a southbound Peterbilt semi-truck in a Wright County intersection. The car became wedged under the trailer and was dragged until the truck left the roadway and rolled into a ditch. The Nissan then caught fire. The car’s driver was seriously injured and airlifted to a hospital. Authorities haven’t said anything yet about how or why the collision occurred.
That leaves us with a big unanswered question: Which vehicle had the right of way? In rural intersections like this, visibility can vary, and stop or yield signage may not be consistent. If the truck entered the intersection when it wasn’t safe to do so, then the responsibility might lie with the driver, or potentially the trucking company that put him on the road. On the other hand, if the Nissan failed to yield, the picture changes entirely. Without clear information, it’s premature to draw conclusions either way.
What we do know is that the impact led to a side underride situation, where the Nissan slid beneath the trailer. That’s a well-documented hazard in the trucking world. When a car strikes the side of a trailer, especially one with high ground clearance and no side underride guards, the outcome is often devastating. The added fact that the car caught fire suggests not only a severe collision but also a delayed rescue, raising the stakes even further for determining exactly what happened and why.
From a legal standpoint, getting to the bottom of this means securing hard evidence. The truck’s engine control module (ECM) will show its speed and braking data. If the truck had in-cab cameras, those could show whether the driver stopped at the intersection or was distracted. Cell phone records may reveal if he was on the phone. Any of those details could prove decisive. Likewise, the fire raises questions about how long the car was stuck under the trailer and how quickly first responders could reach the scene.
In my experience, crashes like this don’t always come down to one person making a single mistake. Sometimes it’s a string of failures: poor visibility, lack of intersection signage, a distracted or poorly trained driver, even a company’s hiring shortcuts. Unless someone takes a closer look at all those elements, the real cause might never come to light.
Key Takeaways:
- It remains unclear which vehicle had the right of way, an essential fact in determining responsibility.
- The collision led to a side underride event and a post-crash fire, both of which suggest a violent and prolonged sequence.
- Data from the truck’s ECM, dash cams and cell phone records will be key in reconstructing what happened.
- Fire and smoke injuries raise questions about the timeline of rescue efforts and how long the car was trapped.
- A full investigation will need to examine not just the drivers’ actions, but also company policies and vehicle safety equipment.
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