Benjamin Kidd Sustains Life-Threatening Injuries in Lafayette Bluff Tunnel Incident

On June 18, 2025, at 15:58, an injury incident (ICR: 25271149) occurred in the Lafayette Bluff Tunnel, Silver Creek Township, Lake County, Minnesota. A 2005 Daimler Chrysler Sprinter Van, operated by Patches Magickbeans, 34, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was traveling northbound on Highway 61 within a traffic-controlled single-lane construction zone. The vehicle deviated into the closed construction lane inside the tunnel, striking multiple orange barrels and colliding with a scissor lift extended to the tunnel's ceiling. Two workers were on the scissor lift at the time: Benjamin John Kidd, 27, of Duluth, Minnesota, and Bradley Nicholas Kostiuk, 37, also of Duluth, Minnesota.

The collision caused Benjamin John Kidd to fall to the ground, resulting in life-threatening injuries. He was transported by EMS helicopter to Essentia Health for treatment. Bradley Nicholas Kostiuk avoided falling by securing himself to a lighting fixture, sustaining only non-life-threatening injuries and requiring no hospitalization. The driver, Magickbeans, also sustained life-threatening injuries and was transported to Essentia Health.