MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Minnesota is seeing another jump in traffic deaths as the busy July Fourth travel period gets underway. At least six people were killed in crashes on state roads between Friday afternoon and Monday morning, and four of those deaths happened in less than 24 hours.
Fiery Eagan rollover
The most recent fatal crash happened shortly after midnight Monday in Eagan, where the State Patrol says an SUV leaving I-35E crossed the ramp, went airborne, hit a traffic light and caught fire. A 28-year-old Eagan woman was driving and a 38-year-old man from Georgia was riding with her.
The crash report did not identify either person by name and did not say whether one or both were killed.
Deadly crashes across north
Two men from Barnum were involved in a single-vehicle crash between Cloquet and Duluth around 6:30 p.m. Sunday, according to the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office. One of the occupants died and the other was flown to a hospital in critical condition.
In another crash Sunday afternoon on Highway 169 just south of Grand Rapids, two women died in a head-on collision. The state crash report says McKenna Joy Christensen, 24, of Luck, Wisconsin, was driving north in an SUV and Carole Rose Wiss, 83, of Grand Rapids, was driving south in another SUV when they collided.
Weekend deaths in southwest Minnesota
Saturday evening, a 64-year-old Redwood Falls man died when his pickup rolled about 30 miles northeast of Marshall. The State Patrol identified the driver as Francis Albert Rohlik and said he was not wearing a seat belt.
In rural Cottonwood County, a 29-year-old Slayton man died Friday afternoon after police say he ran a stop sign and entered the path of a southbound semi. Sean Goodman was pronounced dead at the scene, and three other people, including a 12-year-old, were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The sheriff’s office said a third vehicle was hit after the initial crash. The truck driver and the other driver were also hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
From the Twin Cities to the border and back, Travel Your Way keeps Minnesota informed.