By Talia McWright
Pioneer Press
WOODBURY, Minn. — Allan Olson remembers hearing the visceral sounds of his son Jacob screaming in pain on the side of a dirt road.
He remembers the gaping gash on his son’s arm as he crawled over to offer his son help.
| REGISTER: Navigating your first year in leadership: Insights from new police chiefs
“That’s the first thing I see, a very large gash on your own kid who was screaming at the top of his lungs,” Olson said. “And he goes, ‘Dad, there’s a lot of blood, and it’s collecting behind my back. I can feel it running down.’ So, I felt a lot of fear, quick.”
Olson, an off-duty Woodbury police officer, and his 18-year-old son were hit by an impaired driver while they were on an ATV during a family vacation Aug. 11 in Itasca County. The two survived their injuries and have been in recovery since. Olson is relearning how to walk and his son lost mobility in his hand.
Their family and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety are urging people this holiday season to drive sober and save lives.
“Ride share, Uber, Lyft, friends, I don’t care,” Olson said during a press conference Tuesday. “Walk home, find some other means.”
A life-altering incident
Jacob Olson, who was driving the ATV, saw the pickup coming from the opposite direction, his father said.
He pulled the four-wheeler to the side of the road to give the pickup driver space, but the driver kept coming. The pickup hit the side of their ATV and Allan Olson said he flew in the air and remembers thinking, “I hope I land on something soft.” Instead, he landed directly on the hard ground.
Olson said that’s when he heard his son screaming and saw the laceration on his son’s arm. When Olson tried to stand up, he couldn’t move. He looked down, saw more than half of his pants were missing and on his legs were three large gashes. His femur had been injured and he broke a hip, he said.
On top of being an officer for 24 years, 17 of those with Woodbury, Olson was also a medic in the city for 14 years, he said. When he realized he couldn’t walk, he crawled over to his son and assessed his wounds. He tried to comfort him, he said.
“It’s strange how clear a thought process you get when you get cornered,” Olson said.
Eventually, his 16-year-old daughter, Jadyn, came to the scene and Olson had her make a tourniquet for her brother and take photos of the scene to later show EMS and police.
Life moving forward
Since the incident, Olson has had multiple surgeries and is attending physical therapy twice a week, he said. Early on in his recovery journey, he was in a wheelchair and now he is using one crutch. The progress is slow, and ongoing, he said.
His son has also undergone surgery and goes to physical therapy every two weeks. His left middle finger is permanently damaged, and he cannot move his hand the way he used to.
“He’s been my legs and I’ve been his arms,” Olson said. “If he needs something, he has to go get it and bring it to me. Something as small as a jar of peanut butter, he has to bring it to me so I can open it.”
Their lives are forever changed, Olson said. Because of one person’s irresponsible decision, he and his son are permanently injured and will be suffering the consequences for the rest of their lives. Olson said he doesn’t know if he’s going to be able to return to work. He said he can’t run, jump, or do basic things that many small children can.
“I’m going to move on with the rest of my life, whatever that may be, 20, 30 years, always trying to recover from this,” Olson said during the conference. “You know, five years from now, they talked about that I might need a hip replacement.”
Olson said the incident is also affecting his family’s financial standing. Being on disability leave means he’s not able to save money for retirement the way he was before. It also means his wife, Caley Ranten, who works full-time, is now doing double the amount of housework and caring for their family.
“We are blessed that my husband and my stepson did not leave this world, but it has not been easy getting everything back in order,” Ranten said.
Urging drivers to make safe choices
This particular incident hits close to home for Olson, not only because it impacted his family directly, but because preventing DUIs is his work mission. That drive, he calls it, was cemented years ago when he witnessed a 16-year-old girl die after being hit by an impaired driver, he said.
“You talk to my coworkers, they’ll tell you that I’ve always preached that I’m not the guy that’ll give you a break on your DUI,” Olson said. “I will drag you out of your driveway. I will. And that was my promise to her, that if I get to people who have put her in that position, I will intervene.”
In 2022, Olson was recognized for arresting 22 people driving under the influence in that one year alone.
As of Tuesday, 342 people have died in traffic crashes this year, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. From 2020 to 2024, there were a total of 668 alcohol-related driving deaths and 1,926 serious injuries in alcohol-related crashes, according to the department.
The Olson family and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety are again asking drivers this holiday season to drive sober, drive safe and prevent lives from being lost or permanently changed.
“Your two-minute decision before you leave your festivities this week and decide to get into a car can change yourself and the rest of us and our families,” Olson said during the conference.
Ranten said she remembers being younger and going out with friends for fun. It’s not worth it, however, if there’s no plan for a sober drive home, she said. The amount of pain that her family has endured has shown that to be true.
“I just hope that somebody sees this, and doesn’t drive, doesn’t get behind the wheel to hurt somebody else,” she said.
What can you do?
Crashes caused by impaired drivers are completely preventable, the Department of Public Safety says.
To stay safe, drivers should plan their ride before using any impairing substances, line up a sober driver, use rideshare, schedule a pickup or offer to be a designated driver.
If dangerous behavior is witnessed on the roads, call 911. If someone is about to drive impaired, intervene, take their keys and help them get a ride, Minnesota State Patrol Col. Christina Bogojevic said.
“A tough conversation in the moment is always better than the tragic consequences that follow,” Bogojevic said.
With the first large snowfall of the season on its way, the Department of Public Safety also recommends drivers check 511mn.org as they plan commutes. The department’s Public Information Officer, Mike Lee, said he also recommends drivers have a full tank of gas, a fully charged phone and a winter survival kit on hand.
©2025 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at twincities.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
