Semi slides off I-94, strikes support pillar

EAU CLAIRE —  A semi tractor-trailer traveling westbound  on Interstate 94 near Eau Claire last Friday morning lost control in the wintry weather sending unit into the median and down an embankment where it struck a bridge support pillar.

The driver and only occupant of the semi, 29 year-old Mahamed Farah Abdilahi of St. Cloud, MN, was not injured in the accident. 

 The incident happened at 7:00 a.m. on Friday February 25, 2022 on I-94 near Mile Marker 65 in Eau Claire County.

According to a report from the Wisconsin State Patrol, Eau Claire Post, Abdilahi was traveling westbound on I-94 during a winter weather event when he  lost control of the 2022 Peterbuilt semi tractor causing it to slide into the median and down a hill where it struck a support pillar of the eastbound I-94 bridge which passes over STH 37.

The bridge sustained cosmetic damage from the crash, but an initial inspection indicated that it was not structurally damaged.

The semi unit and trailer had to be lifted from the crash scene by a crane and was then towed from the scene.

Abdilahi was wearing a seat belt when the crash occurred. Alcohol was not a factor in the accident. 

Assisting the Wisconsin State Patrol at the scene were the Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Office, Eau Claire Fire and Rescue and Eau Claire County Highway Department.

The crash remains under investigation by the Wisconsin State Patrol.

THE CAB of this 2022 Peterbuilt Conventional semi received extensive damage when it slid off the westbound lanes of Interstate 94 early Friday morning, February 25 near Eau Claire. The driver, Mahamed Farah Abdilahi of St. Cloud, MN, was not injured in the crash. —photo by the Wisconsin State Patrol