A passenger vehicle struck a specially equipped state road crew truck along a Twin Cities highway early Thursday. The truck did what it was designed to do and protected the 10 workers from even a scratch, a transportation spokesman said.

The crash occurred about 2:35 a.m. south of the Mall of America in Bloomington on southbound Hwy. 77 near E. Old Shakopee Road, said Minnesota Department of Transportation spokesman David Aeikens.

Ricky A. Syonesa, 27, of Eagan was under the influence of alcohol at the time and was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center with noncritical injuries, said State Patrol Lt. Tiffani Nielson.

The workers, replacing guardrails along the left shoulder of Hwy. 77, were accompanied by three trucks, one of which Aeikens called a "crash truck," which is a dump truck with a cushion — known as a truck-mounted attenuator — that acts as a shield in the event that a motorist doesn't stop.

"And that's exactly what happened," Aeikens said. "No one [on the crew] was hurt."

All of the workers were in front of the crash truck and two other MnDOT vehicles, he said.

Folded up in this photo, this device helps protect road crews in the event of a crash.

The work area had many lights shining at the time of the crash, along with "one of those big illuminated signs [telling approaching drivers] to go to the right," Aeikens said.

Nielson said the "driver of the vehicle … was trapped and had to be cut out." A passenger suffered minor injuries, she said.

The highway was reopened shortly before 5 a.m., once investigators completed their work and the wreckage was cleared.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482