A 40-year-old Aitkin man is fighting for his life after the car he was driving left Highway 210 near McGregor early Saturday, rolling several times. Robert Charles Seffinga suffered life-threatening injuries in the crash and was rushed to a hospital in St. Cloud, according to investigators.
The Minnesota State Patrol reported that Seffinga was driving a 2008 Chevrolet Impala west on Highway 210 near 270th Place in McGregor when the vehicle lost control while navigating a left curve, according to Brainerd Dispatch. The car ran off the road to the left, struck a road approach and rolled several times, per the same report. A separate crash log from the Minnesota State Patrol places the incident near mile marker 170 on Highway 210, describing the same sequence of the Impala losing control on a left curve and running off the roadway.
The crash was reported at 12:41 a.m. Saturday, and road conditions were dry at the time, the station's report notes. Seffinga was not wearing a seat belt, and alcohol is suspected in the crash, according to the state patrol's account relayed by the outlet. No further details on toxicology results or potential charges have been released.
Emergency Crews Respond to Highway Scene
The McGregor Fire Department, the Aitkin County Sheriff's Office, North Memorial Health Ambulance and Life Link all assisted at the scene, per the same account. Seffinga was transported to St. Cloud Hospital following the rollover, and no update on his current condition has been released.
The stretch of Highway 210 near McGregor has seen at least one other serious wreck this year. A crash in Shamrock Township, north of McGregor, injured a 17-year-old girl in June, the outlet reported at the time, though the circumstances of that incident differed from Saturday's rollover.
Impaired Driving Remains a Persistent Problem Statewide
Minnesota law sets the legal blood alcohol limit for driving at 0.08%, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. The agency's data show that impaired driving killed 74 people statewide in 2021, a decrease from 79 deaths the year before, while alcohol-related crashes left 2,228 people injured that same year.
The department also recorded 24,324 DWI arrests in 2021, a 13% drop from 2017, even as more than 100,000 Minnesotans self-reported drinking and driving at least once during a 30-day span in 2020. Those figures underscore how common impaired driving remains on Minnesota roads, even as arrest numbers have trended downward.
No additional details about Seffinga's condition, any toxicology findings, or possible charges tied to Saturday's crash have been made public. Brainerd Dispatch reported the incident before Lakeland PBS.
