WINONA, Minn. – A Rushford driver, who police say was drunk, went off the steep and curvy road coming down from Garvin Heights into town. The car fell an estimated 100 feet down a slope and ended up on its side – wrecked beyond repair. Jesse David Barry, 48, had to be pulled out of the wreckage. His injuries were superficial cuts and bruises. His passenger, a 63-year-old man from Canton, was taken to the hospital with what appeared to be sustainable injuries. The wild drop may have been cushioned somewhat by snow and leafless brush. This was about 6:35 p.m. Police quoted a witness following Barry up the hill that Barry was crawling slowly, like 15 mph, and weaving, and then accelerated out of sight around a bend — and then came back, this time downhill, and crossed lanes, crashed through a guardrail, and drove off the shoulder and disappeared. Police quoted Barry’s passenger that the man had been drinking — two cocktails, he said. Barry refused to be tested for his blood-alcohol level. Officers, however, had no doubt about impairment: He smelled drunk, couldn’t complete a sentence or walk straight, not to mention blood-shot and watery eyes and slurring a lot.
Bluff-side emergency. Garvin Heights Road was closed an hour to tow out wrecked 2013 Ford Focus some 100 feet down.