ST. PAUL — Allan Olson and his 18-year-old son Jacob were four-wheeling on the last day of their family vacation in Itasca County this summer.
They’d just pulled onto a dirt road, and Jacob pulled them over to make room for an approaching pickup truck.
Olson said if the driver had followed the curve of the road, he would have driven right by. Instead, he drove right into them.
“I remember sailing through the air, seeing the blue sky, and I remember making a comment to myself that ‘I hope I come down on something soft,’" Olson recounted at Nov. 25 press conference, getting choked up as he spoke. "Then I impacted on the ground. I could hear — I can hear Jacob screaming.”
Olson is a Woodbury police officer. Leaning on a crutch, he shared the story of the day his family’s life changed as part of the Department of Public Safety’s holiday impaired driving extra enforcement campaign.
Father and son were eventually brought to a hospital in Duluth, where Jacob had emergency surgery on his broken arm with three torn tendons. Olson had surgery the next day. His femur moved up and broke his hip.
“I’m going to move on with the rest of my life, whatever that may be ... always trying to recover from this. Five years from now, they talked about I might need a hip replacement," he said. "... So your two-minute decision before you leave your festivities this week and decide to get in a car can change not even yourself but the rest of us and our families.”
The Office of Traffic Safety's statewide campaign began Nov. 26 and runs weekends through New Year's Eve. The extra enforcement is funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In 2020-24, there were 668 alcohol-related driving deaths in Minnesota, and 1,926 serious injuries in alcohol-related crashes.
The public safety department reminds people that you shouldn’t drive after using any substance that impairs your judgment, including cannabis and hemp-derived THC, some prescription medications and sleep aids.
If you’re planning to drink or smoke, also plan a safe and sober ride home.
The DPS also reminds people:
- Offer to be a designated driver. Offer to be available to pick up a loved one anytime, anywhere.
- See someone impaired who is about to drive? Help them find a safe ride home.
- Buckle up: It's the best defense against impaired drivers on the road.
- Report suspected impaired driving. Call 911, and be prepared to provide the location, license plate number and driving behaviors.
- Just like how drinking alcohol in a vehicle is illegal, it is illegal for drivers or passengers to open any cannabis packaging or consume cannabis while driving.
