Victim ID'd In Fatal Crash After Snowstorm
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The snow that fell overnight in Minnesota wreaked havoc on the roads, including causing one fatal accident.
The Minnesota State Patrol said between 3 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Saturday there were 225 crashes statewide -- 26 of them with injuries and 1 fatal crash.
The fatal crash happened two miles south of Mahnomen, Minn., at about 2:40 a.m. Saturday.
The State Patrol said a Chevy Lumina was traveling south on Highway 59 when the driver, identified by the patrol as 23-year-old Gina Thompson of Mahnomen, lost control and fishtailed across both lanes of traffic.
The vehicle ended up facing southwest in the northbound lane when it was hit by a Freightliner semi-truck, killing Thompson.
The State Patrol said the roads were icy at the time of the crash.
In all there were 392 vehicles in the state that went off the road or spun out.
In the Twin Cities, there were 141 crashes, 13 with injuries and 172 vehicles that went off the road or spun out.
NewsRadio 830 WCCO's Bruce Hagevik Reports
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WCCO meteorologist Ron Trenda said some areas of the state got more than 10 inches of snow in some spots. As of Saturday morning, Lakeville got 11.7 inches, Minneapolis got 8, Rochester got 7.8, and St. Paul got 6.7 inches of snow.
There is still a winter storm warning out for parts of southeastern Minnesota and southwestern Wisconsin until 6 p.m. Trenda said he expects it will be cancelled early because very little additional snow is expected down there.
There may be occasional flurries throughout Saturday afternoon and evening. Trenda said it will be cold overnight with temps dropping into single digits.
Sunday should be cold and sunny with the high temperature of only 16 degrees, well below normal for this time of year. The average temperature around this time is 30 degrees.
WCCO-TV's Mike Fairbourne Reports
