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St. Paul Police ID Driver, Victim In 'Horrific' Bus Crash

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- St. Paul police have released the name of the driver who drove through a Metro Transit bus Friday, killing a 48-year-old passenger.

The crash happened at about 7:30 p.m., when a car -- driven by 26-year-old Tyler Randall Bjelland -- hit a vehicle while traveling eastbound on Charles Avenue.

metro transit bus crash
(credit: CBS)

Police say Bjelland fled the scene of what they described as a minor accident, but he soon drove through a stop sign and hit a median at Dale Street, causing his car to go airborne and pierce a bus with six to eight people on board. Bjelland's car then erupted in flames.

A 48-year-old man -- identified as Kenneth J. Foster -- was thrown from the bus and killed.

Bjelland, from Minneapolis, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide. Police say he may have been driving while impaired.

St. Paul Fatal Bus Crash
(credit: CBS)

A 19-year-old bus passenger were taken to Regions Hospital, where he is listed in critical condition.

Bjelland was also taken to Regions with an apparent leg injury.

"I talked to some of our investigators who were on the scene, they've been on the job 20, 25 years," said St. Paul Police Public Information Officer Steve Linders. "They said they've never seen anything like this before. Definitely horrific, definitely unnecessary. But we're going to do our best to hold the driver accountable."

The names of the victims have not been released.

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