VIDEO: Trucker won't face charges for wildfire that shut down I-29, caused 10-car crash

The state’s attorneys in Grand Forks, Pembina and Walsh counties have collectively decided to not pursue charges against the semi driver suspected of igniting grass fires that shut down part of Interstate 29 in April. The driver of the truck, 31-year-old Mehmet Demir of Miami Beach, Fla., and the trucking company Coast to Coast Trucking Inc., will not face criminal charges in the three counties affected by the fire, all three state's attorneys’ offices said. Walsh County State’s Attorney Barbara Whelan said Demir could have have faced potential charges of endangerment by fire, failure to control or report fire, and damaging a public service. “We simply cannot meet the elements of proof required for any of these crimes,” Whelan wrote in an email. The potential charges stem from an April 15 grass fire. The blaze was reported at about noon near Joliette, N.D., and forced officials to shut down I-29 from Grand Forks to just south of the Canadian border for four and a half hours.
Local emergency personnel responded and began fighting the fire. Due to strong winds and dry conditions, the fire spread rapidly, and smoke and fire began crossing the roadway, reducing the visibility to zero.A 10-vehicle crash north of Oslo, Minn., caused by smoke from the fire, sent eight people to the hospital. Near the same location, two semis rear-ended each other, causing property damage. A state trooper pulled over Demir, whose load was smoking, at about 1 p.m. April 15 on an interstate exit in the Grand Forks area, according to a North Dakota Highway Patrol release. After taking a closer look, the trooper realized the conveyor on the semi trailer was on fire, the release said. The fire was eventually extinguished by the Grand Forks Fire Department after the trooper tried unsuccessfully to put out the flames with his fire extinguisher. A state fire marshal inspected the truck and found chunks of coal residue in the conveyor, which are believed to have caught fire when a piece of the conveyor was removed with a cutting torch prior to transport, according to the release. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1876524","attributes":{"alt":"Fire crews attempt to put out wildfires April 15 on Interstate 29 near Manvel, N.D. (Logan Werlinger/Grand Forks Herald)","class":"media-image","height":"667","title":"","width":"1000"}}]] Investigators suspected small pieces of the ignited coal were blowing out of the conveyor during transport, which allegedly ignited the grass fires along the truck's I-29’s southbound route to Grand Forks. The driver was traveling from Walhalla, N.D., according to the report. Whelan said the counties could not reach the burden of proof required to criminally charge Demir. She said those injured in the fire, including those involved in the motor vehicle accidents, could still file a civil lawsuit against the driver. “The burden of proof in a civil case is substantially less than the burden of proof in a criminal case,” she said. Carmell Mattison, the attorney handling the case for Grand Forks County and Pembina County state’s attorney Ryan Bialas could both not be reached Friday. Both offices, however, confirmed charges would not be pressed against Demir.The state’s attorneys in Grand Forks, Pembina and Walsh counties have collectively decided to not pursue charges against the semi driver suspected of igniting grass fires that shut down part of Interstate 29 in April. The driver of the truck, 31-year-old Mehmet Demir of Miami Beach, Fla., and the trucking company Coast to Coast Trucking Inc., will not face criminal charges in the three counties affected by the fire, all three state's attorneys’ offices said. Walsh County State’s Attorney Barbara Whelan said Demir could have have faced potential charges of endangerment by fire, failure to control or report fire, and damaging a public service. “We simply cannot meet the elements of proof required for any of these crimes,” Whelan wrote in an email. The potential charges stem from an April 15 grass fire. The blaze was reported at about noon near Joliette, N.D., and forced officials to shut down I-29 from Grand Forks to just south of the Canadian border for four and a half hours. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1876517","attributes":{"alt":"Emergency staff investigate the wreckage of a crash caused by fire smoke that shut down Interstate 29 April 15. (WDAZ Photo)","class":"media-image","height":"750","title":"","width":"1000"}}]] Local emergency personnel responded and began fighting the fire. Due to strong winds and dry conditions, the fire spread rapidly, and smoke and fire began crossing the roadway, reducing the visibility to zero.A 10-vehicle crash north of Oslo, Minn., caused by smoke from the fire, sent eight people to the hospital. Near the same location, two semis rear-ended each other, causing property damage. A state trooper pulled over Demir, whose load was smoking, at about 1 p.m. April 15 on an interstate exit in the Grand Forks area, according to a North Dakota Highway Patrol release. After taking a closer look, the trooper realized the conveyor on the semi trailer was on fire, the release said. The fire was eventually extinguished by the Grand Forks Fire Department after the trooper tried unsuccessfully to put out the flames with his fire extinguisher. A state fire marshal inspected the truck and found chunks of coal residue in the conveyor, which are believed to have caught fire when a piece of the conveyor was removed with a cutting torch prior to transport, according to the release.
Investigators suspected small pieces of the ignited coal were blowing out of the conveyor during transport, which allegedly ignited the grass fires along the truck's I-29’s southbound route to Grand Forks. The driver was traveling from Walhalla, N.D., according to the report. Whelan said the counties could not reach the burden of proof required to criminally charge Demir. She said those injured in the fire, including those involved in the motor vehicle accidents, could still file a civil lawsuit against the driver. “The burden of proof in a civil case is substantially less than the burden of proof in a criminal case,” she said. Carmell Mattison, the attorney handling the case for Grand Forks County and Pembina County state’s attorney Ryan Bialas could both not be reached Friday. Both offices, however, confirmed charges would not be pressed against Demir.The state’s attorneys in Grand Forks, Pembina and Walsh counties have collectively decided to not pursue charges against the semi driver suspected of igniting grass fires that shut down part of Interstate 29 in April.The driver of the truck, 31-year-old Mehmet Demir of Miami Beach, Fla., and the trucking company Coast to Coast Trucking Inc., will not face criminal charges in the three counties affected by the fire, all three state's attorneys’ offices said.Walsh County State’s Attorney Barbara Whelan said Demir could have have faced potential charges of endangerment by fire, failure to control or report fire, and damaging a public service.“We simply cannot meet the elements of proof required for any of these crimes,” Whelan wrote in an email.The potential charges stem from an April 15 grass fire. The blaze was reported at about noon near Joliette, N.D., and forced officials to shut down I-29 from Grand Forks to just south of the Canadian border for four and a half hours.
Local emergency personnel responded and began fighting the fire. Due to strong winds and dry conditions, the fire spread rapidly, and smoke and fire began crossing the roadway, reducing the visibility to zero.A 10-vehicle crash north of Oslo, Minn., caused by smoke from the fire, sent eight people to the hospital. Near the same location, two semis rear-ended each other, causing property damage.A state trooper pulled over Demir, whose load was smoking, at about 1 p.m. April 15 on an interstate exit in the Grand Forks area, according to a North Dakota Highway Patrol release.After taking a closer look, the trooper realized the conveyor on the semi trailer was on fire, the release said. The fire was eventually extinguished by the Grand Forks Fire Department after the trooper tried unsuccessfully to put out the flames with his fire extinguisher.A state fire marshal inspected the truck and found chunks of coal residue in the conveyor, which are believed to have caught fire when a piece of the conveyor was removed with a cutting torch prior to transport, according to the release.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1876524","attributes":{"alt":"Fire crews attempt to put out wildfires April 15 on Interstate 29 near Manvel, N.D. (Logan Werlinger/Grand Forks Herald)","class":"media-image","height":"667","title":"","width":"1000"}}]] Investigators suspected small pieces of the ignited coal were blowing out of the conveyor during transport, which allegedly ignited the grass fires along the truck's I-29’s southbound route to Grand Forks.The driver was traveling from Walhalla, N.D., according to the report.Whelan said the counties could not reach the burden of proof required to criminally charge Demir. She said those injured in the fire, including those involved in the motor vehicle accidents, could still file a civil lawsuit against the driver.“The burden of proof in a civil case is substantially less than the burden of proof in a criminal case,” she said.Carmell Mattison, the attorney handling the case for Grand Forks County and Pembina County state’s attorney Ryan Bialas could both not be reached Friday. Both offices, however, confirmed charges would not be pressed against Demir.The state’s attorneys in Grand Forks, Pembina and Walsh counties have collectively decided to not pursue charges against the semi driver suspected of igniting grass fires that shut down part of Interstate 29 in April.The driver of the truck, 31-year-old Mehmet Demir of Miami Beach, Fla., and the trucking company Coast to Coast Trucking Inc., will not face criminal charges in the three counties affected by the fire, all three state's attorneys’ offices said.Walsh County State’s Attorney Barbara Whelan said Demir could have have faced potential charges of endangerment by fire, failure to control or report fire, and damaging a public service.“We simply cannot meet the elements of proof required for any of these crimes,” Whelan wrote in an email.The potential charges stem from an April 15 grass fire. The blaze was reported at about noon near Joliette, N.D., and forced officials to shut down I-29 from Grand Forks to just south of the Canadian border for four and a half hours.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"1876517","attributes":{"alt":"Emergency staff investigate the wreckage of a crash caused by fire smoke that shut down Interstate 29 April 15. (WDAZ Photo)","class":"media-image","height":"750","title":"","width":"1000"}}]] Local emergency personnel responded and began fighting the fire. Due to strong winds and dry conditions, the fire spread rapidly, and smoke and fire began crossing the roadway, reducing the visibility to zero.A 10-vehicle crash north of Oslo, Minn., caused by smoke from the fire, sent eight people to the hospital. Near the same location, two semis rear-ended each other, causing property damage.A state trooper pulled over Demir, whose load was smoking, at about 1 p.m. April 15 on an interstate exit in the Grand Forks area, according to a North Dakota Highway Patrol release.After taking a closer look, the trooper realized the conveyor on the semi trailer was on fire, the release said. The fire was eventually extinguished by the Grand Forks Fire Department after the trooper tried unsuccessfully to put out the flames with his fire extinguisher.A state fire marshal inspected the truck and found chunks of coal residue in the conveyor, which are believed to have caught fire when a piece of the conveyor was removed with a cutting torch prior to transport, according to the release.
Investigators suspected small pieces of the ignited coal were blowing out of the conveyor during transport, which allegedly ignited the grass fires along the truck's I-29’s southbound route to Grand Forks.The driver was traveling from Walhalla, N.D., according to the report.Whelan said the counties could not reach the burden of proof required to criminally charge Demir. She said those injured in the fire, including those involved in the motor vehicle accidents, could still file a civil lawsuit against the driver.“The burden of proof in a civil case is substantially less than the burden of proof in a criminal case,” she said.Carmell Mattison, the attorney handling the case for Grand Forks County and Pembina County state’s attorney Ryan Bialas could both not be reached Friday. Both offices, however, confirmed charges would not be pressed against Demir.