Ellendale, MN : Albert Lea man injured after a two-vehicle crash on Highway 30 near Ellendale on Wednesday, May 6, 2015

A two-car crash Wednesday morning left one man injured and slowed traffic moving through an interstate exit.

Gilberto Sanchez, 69, of Albert Lea was taken to Owatonna Hospital by ambulance with injuries that were not life-threatening. His passenger, Gilberto Sanchez Jr., 41, was uninjured, as was Anika Nowlan, 19, of Ellendale, the driver of the other car.

First responders were dispatched shortly after 9:30 a.m. to the crash, which occurred in the intersection between Highway 30 and the northbound offramp of Interstate 35. The Minnesota State Patrol, Steele County Sheriff’s Office, Ellendale Fire Department and Ellendale Ambulance responded to the scene, which partially blocked the highway for nearly an hour.

State patrol officials on the scene said it appeared Sanchez Sr., driving a 1994 Chevy Corsica exited the highway and then pulled out in front of the 2007 Kia Optima driven by Nowlan, which was traveling east on Highway 30. The Kia struck the Chevy in the driver-side door. Sanchez Sr. had to be extracted from his seat before being removed from the scene by ambulance, but troopers reported he was alert, conscious and talking with rescue workers.

Neither vehicle was drivable after the crash, and salvage crews arrived shortly after the ambulance departed to begin clearing the road. State Patrol troopers closed Highway 30 to one lane and directed traffic while the scene was being cleared.

Source :
Updated: Man injured in highway crash near Ellendale