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Both Drivers In Accident Could Face Charges

On Behalf of | Mar 20, 2017 | Uncategorized |

The driver of a car could be facing DWI charges, while the driver of the garbage truck that he slammed into could be facing charges of driving on the wrong side of the road.

Police in Hermantown identified the drivers in the car vs. garbage truck accident as 33-year-old Trever Lee Austin of Cloquet and 52-year-old Joseph Peter Slaviero. Austin, the driver of the car, was injured in the crash and listed in critical condition at a Duluth hospital, while Slaviero was not injured in the accident because he was outside of the truck.

According to the police report, the crash occurred around 5:30 a.m. on January 18 near Solway Road on Morris Thomas Road. Austin slammed into the front of the garbage truck, operated by Hartel’s-DBJ Disposal. When police arrived, he was trapped in the car while he was unconscious and bleeding. It is not entirely certain whether alcohol was a factor, although officers had unspecified reasons for suspecting that it was. Blood from Austin has been tested, but the results have not yet been made available.

The police also state that Slaviero contributed to the crash by parking at the edge of the road, facing west in an eastbound lane as he collected garbage from a garbage can placed near the road. Austin was eastbound in the same lane and collided with the truck as he came over the crest of the hill. The garbage truck sustained only some damage.

Chief Shawn Padden of the Hermantown police said that Slaviero could face charges of driving on the wrong side of the road.

The Proctor police St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office assisted with the crash scene.