St. Cloud Man Hurt In Crash Near Clearwater

CLEARWATER -- A St. Cloud man was hurt with the van he was driving struck a tree. The Stearns County Sheriff's Office says the crash happened at about 1:45 p.m. on Friday near the intersection of County Road 75 and Franklin Road in Lynden Township, just north of the Stearns County and Wright County line outside the city limits of Clearwater.

Twenty-nine-year-old Michael Dale was driving south on County Road 75 when his vehicle left the road, went down a steep ditch, and struck a large pine tree.

Dale told deputies he swerved to avoid a deer.

He was taken to St. Cloud Hospital.

The Sheriff's Office says Dale was possibly under the influence of a controlled substance and was booked into the Stearns County Jail for 1st Degree DWI.