Dog-driven semi crosses curb near Mankato Kwik Trip

MANKATO — Someone's been teaching Fido the wrong sort of tricks.

No one knew immediately what went wrong, but customers at the Kwik Trip along Highway 169 were treated to a curious sight Friday afternoon: a dog appearing to drive a semi-truck across North River Drive toward the gas station.

Mankato police confirmed an idling semi-truck was apparently put in gear before 2 p.m. Friday, where it traveled through the Wilson Trailer Sales parking lot, across the street, and over a curb.

A passerby hopped into the truck to stop it, where he discovered a dog sitting in the driver's seat.

David Stegora was at the gas station when he heard the truck smash into a tree, then crash into a parked car near Kwik Trip's gas pumps.

"I heard the tree snap and I thought somebody decided to turn around, but then it just kept going forward," he said.

Stegora didn't understand how the truck was moving by itself, as he couldn't see the driver. That changed once the dog climbed up near the driver's side window. 

Police Cmdr. Dan Schisel said the State Patrol took an accident report and the truck was taken off the road.

It's unclear whether the truck's owner, or the dog, will be in the doghouse over the incident.

“All I know is it was a Labrador,” Schisel said.