Semi driver injured in Highway 10 crash near Perham

A morning crash at Highway 10 and Otter Tail County Road 80 sent a New York Mills semi driver to the hospital and briefly put one of the county’s busiest travel corridors in the spotlight.

Joseph Allen Balcer, 64, of New York Mills, was driving a 2026 Freightliner semi tractor when it collided with a 2014 Dodge Ram 1500 just before 7 a.m. Wednesday in Perham Township. The Minnesota State Patrol listed the case as an injury crash, case No. 26900727, and said the semi was traveling on County Road 80 and attempting to cross onto eastbound Highway 10 when it collided with the westbound pickup.

Balcer was taken by Perham EMS to the Perham hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The pickup driver, from Badger, was not hurt.

The crash happened at 6:56 a.m. on April 15, 2026, on eastbound Highway 10 near County Road 80. The State Patrol said the roadway was dry and that alcohol was not involved, underscoring that this was a straight traffic collision at a busy junction rather than a weather-related or impairment-related wreck.

Perham Fire Department, Perham Police Department and the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office all helped at the scene, along with Perham EMS. The response showed how quickly multiple agencies can be pulled into action when a crash shuts down part of a corridor that carries commuters, freight traffic and local drivers through Perham.

The location also matters because Highway 10 is part of a much larger county transportation network. Otter Tail County says its Highway Department maintains 1,067 miles of County State Aid Highways and County Highways, along with 74 bridges. A crash at a connector like County Road 80 can ripple beyond the two vehicles involved, affecting travel across the Perham area and the routes people use to reach work, school, farms and businesses.

Minnesota crash records are publicly available back to Jan. 1, 2016, offering a way to compare this intersection with other recent Perham-area collisions and see whether it has developed a pattern of serious crashes. For now, the main facts are clear: a morning crossing attempt ended with one driver injured, one driver spared, and a major route near Perham disrupted before the day had really begun.