Icy conditions caused by blowing snow on Sunday contributed to a number of vehicle crashes.
The patrol car of a North Dakota trooper was struck on Interstate 29 around 3:45 p.m., Lt. Bryan Niewind said in a release.
Highway Patrol Trooper Kyle Stern was parked on the median just south of the Hillsboro exit of I-29 to direct traffic for a wrecker when a Hamilton, N.D., 18-year-old lost control of his car and struck Stern's car, Niewind said in the release.
There were about a half-dozen vehicles in the ditch at the crash site, he said.
The damage to both cars was minor, and no one was injured, but the driver who struck the patrol car, Reid D. Kemp, could potentially face charges, Niewind said.
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There were 11 rollovers and another 35 vehicles off the road in the six-county west central region of the Minnesota State Patrol, said Sgt. Jesse Grabow.
Grabow said accidents led to seven minor injuries, and two drivers were cited for inattentive driving for hitting snowplows - one 10 miles east of Moorhead on Interstate 94, another just south of Moorhead on U.S. Highway 75.
Many drivers were going too fast on roads that are bound to be still slick this morning, Grabow said.
