Minnesota Traffic Wrecks on Wednesday Kill Three, Injure Six

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St Paul (KROC AM News) - It was a deadly day on Minnesota roads Wednesday as traffic wrecks killed at least three people and injured several others.

A motorcyclist was killed while driving in a Twin Cities area highway construction zone. The Minnesota State Patrol says the victim was driving on I-94 in Maple Grove around 4:00 am when he crashed. The State Patrol says “The rider entered the construction zone, drifted left off the roadway and rolled several times, coming to a rest in the left ditch.” The man was not wearing a helmet and died at the scene. He was identified as 67-year-old Norlyn Nelson of Becker, Minnesota.

One person was killed and six people were hurt in a two-vehicle crash that happened around 11:30 am in central Minnesota. The State Patrol says two vehicles collided at an intersection in the town of Pennock.

The person who died was a passenger in one of the vehicles. The name of the 83-year-old woman from Sanborn will be released Thursday. The minivan she was riding in was driven by 84-year-old Frederick Berg of Sanborn. He and two other passengers - 88-year-old Robert Mathiowetz and 83-year-old Irene Mathiowetz of Sleepy Eye - were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The other vehicle was driven by 22-year-old Rae Ann Baker of Redwood Falls. There were two passengers in her vehicle, 20-year-old Thomas Zempel of Mankato and 17-year-old Kyri Cox of Redwood Falls. All three suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

The third fatal wreck involved a semi-truck that also crashed in central Minnesota.

The State Patrol says the truck was traveling on I-94 in Clearwater when the rig “left the roadway and rolled into the ditch.” The 3:00 pm crash killed the driver, who was not using a seatbelt. The name of the 64-year-old St Cloud man will be released Thursday.

News update:  A rainy 48 hours facing southern Minnesota.