A 54-year-old Hermantown man, Michael Eugene Sisto, died after his vehicle collided with a pickup truck near Esko on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 5.
Sisto was transported via ambulance from the scene on North Cloquet Road East near Ikola Road to Community Memorial Hospital in Cloquet, where he later died, according to a press release from the Carlton County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff’s office reported that Sisto’s vehicle was westbound on North Cloquet Road East near Ikola Road shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday when it crossed the centerline and collided with an eastbound pickup truck driven by Joshua Lee Wingness, a 32-year-old Pine City man.
An eyewitness to the accident, Cole Wuollet, was behind Sisto waiting at the train crossing on North Road.
“He started accelerating and drifted across the center line,” said Wuollet. “He hit an oncoming truck that was going the speed limit. The driver of the truck got out and was confused. The guy in the car was unconscious and in tough shape.”
Wingness sustained minor injuries.
ADVERTISEMENT
The sheriff's office reported that alcohol is not believed to be a factor in the collision. The accident is still under investigation.
A visitation for Sisto begins at 10 a.m. today (Thursday, Jan. 12) until the 11 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial at St. James Church, 721 N. 57 Ave. West, Duluth. Memorials are preferred and may be directed to Animal Allies, 4006 Airport Rd., Duluth, MN 55811 or Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Shelf, 4503 Airpark Blvd., Duluth, MN 55811. Sisto’s full obituary was published in the Duluth News Tribune.
In addition to the sheriff's office, the Esko Volunteer Fire Department and Cloquet Area Fire District responded to the scene.
