Minnesota Bug Blackout Slicks Up Road, Causes Accident

(Image Credit: ABC News)

A snowplow was used to clear a Minnesota road after a four-inch-thick film of crushed bugs caused slippery conditions that resulted in a head-on collision, officials said.

The accident happened Sunday night around 11:30 p.m. on the Hastings Bridge, about 30 miles from Minneapolis.

Kevin Cleman of Cottage Grove, Minn., told ABC News' Minneapolis affiliate he was driving his family home when a driver, who had been blinded by a swarm of mayflies, lost control of his vehicle and slammed into Clemen's car.

When Clemen exited his car to check on his family, he said, the coat of bug parts made the bridge so slippery that he could barely walk.

"It was like ice," he said. "You just started sliding and couldn't stop."

Clemen's two children spent the night in the hospital with minor injuries, the station reported.

Mayflies are common in the summertime near water sources and are attracted to light, making Hastings Bridge an ideal spot, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.