Driver in hot water after plow falls through ice

[December 31, 2008]  CROOKSTON, Minn. (AP) -- A Minnesota snowplow operator is in hot water with his boss after driving a $200,000 loader into a frozen river.

Mike Raymond was clearing snow from county parking lots early Monday when he decided to also clear off a boat ramp on the frozen Red Lake River in Crookston.

Raymond says he wanted to make it easier for people who pull fish houses on trailers onto the river. He so happens to have a fish house on the river himself -- but told the Grand Forks Herald that's not why he wanted to clear the area.

The John Deere 544 loader slid down the cement ramp, through the ice to the river bottom.

Emergency workers quickly helped Raymond out, but it took hours to retrieve the loader.

Raymond's boss says he will be disciplined.

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Information from: Grand Forks Herald, http://www.grandforksherald.com/

[Associated Press]

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