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A Wisconsin man is facing charges in a crash that seriously injured a construction worker in a tunnel on the North Shore. 

The crash happened in the Lafayette Bluff Tunnel on Highway 61 on June 18. The driver, identified in court documents as 34-year-old Patches Magickbeans, faces charges including criminal vehicular operation and possession of a controlled substance.

According to the complaint, an off-duty officer reported seeing a van swerving and weaving as it drove northbound on Highway 61. The van allegedly hit a curb and several traffic cones, and then hit a scissor lift in the tunnel. It then hit the tunnel wall and rolled over. 

One construction worker fell off the lift. According to the complaint, he remains hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. 

A second construction worker who was on the lift managed to grab onto a light fixture in the tunnel when he saw the van approaching. He remained there until he could be safely lowered. He reportedly sustained minor injuries.

The complaint says Magickbeans was still stuck in the van when officers arrived on the scene; emergency personnel extricated him from the vehicle. 

According to the charges, an officer on the scene said Magickbeans was struggling to focus on events around him, and allegedly was moving erratically. 

Officers searched the van and found plastic bags containing psilocybin mushrooms, according to charging documents. 

Magickbeans was taken to the hospital and treated for broken ribs. 

Officers later questioned him about the crash; Magickbeans said he did not remember it. He told police he foraged the mushrooms, and said he did not consume any drugs or alcohol that day. 

Magickbeans remains in custody in Lake County Jail. Results of a drug test are pending.

Crime, Law and Justice

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Estelle Timar-Wilcox

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A Wisconsin man is charged with drug possession and criminal vehicular operation after a crash that seriously injured a construction worker in a tunnel on the North Shore. 

Man charged in North Shore tunnel crash that injured two construction workers

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