RED WING, Minn. — A Wisconsin driver has lots of explaining to do. Nicholas Oskey, age 31, of LaCrosse, was advised in court about six criminal charges related to him hitting several vehicles on U.S. Highway 52 near Zumbrota, then a police chase, and then crashing his pickup truck off a bridge into shallows of the Zumbro River. The charges:
> Driving while intoxicated.
> Fleeing police.
> Reckless driving.
> Failing to stop for a collision.
> Possessing a loaded handgun.
> Possessing a dangerous weapon in a legal category that includes brass knuckles and switch blades.
Oskey. His explanation, dripping wet after finale crash into river: Can’t remember anything.
A scary chronicle
The criminal complaint feported that the Goodhue County police dispatcher began receiving calls just before midnight about a berserk driver on four-lane lane U.S. Highway 52 near Zumbrota. This is the main artery linking Rochester and the Twin Cities. The dispatcher heard what sounded like crashes in the background. A Zumbrota police officer responded and came across a semi-truck rig and a pickup in the median. A person was trying to get into the passenger side of the semi cab. When the person, later identified as Oskey, saw the officer, he jumped back into the pickup and sped off. The pursuit lasted several minutes. A few miles later a semi-truck driver, recognizing what was happening, blocked the road ahead. Oskey went into the grass median but kept going until plunging into the Zumbro River. Oskey, unhurt, climbed out of his partially submerged pickup and was taken into custody. He told officers he must have blacked out. He said he couldn’t remember a thing. He said he had a persistent disorder related to a traumatic injury. Two drivers whose vehicles had been slammed repeatedly said they ultimately lost control and ended up in the median. No one in the vehicles was hurt.
Earlier: Fleeing driver runs off bridge into river