Overnight Snow & Freezing Drizzle Led To More Than 300 Crashes, Spinouts Across Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Following overnight snow and freezing drizzle, there were more than 300 crashes and spinouts Thursday morning across Minnesota.

The Minnesota State Patrol says that between Wednesday night and late Thursday morning, there were 155 crashes, 163 spinouts and four jackknifed semis. Eighteen people were hurt in the crashes, with two people suffering serious injuries.

One of the serious injury crashes was in Edina, where a high school student was struck in a hit-and-run while waiting for a school bus. The other serious crash happened in Olmsted County.

During the morning rush, there were several crashes on slick Twin Cities roads.

One crash closed the Interstate 694-Interstate 35E interchange in Little Canada for several hours. Another crash with two jackknifed semis closed lanes on westbound Interstate 494 in the southeast metro.

Further north, near St. Cloud, another crash involving jackknifed semis made for traffic headaches on Interstate 94.

The hundreds of crashes statewide happened as snow and freezing drizzle fell across Minnesota as temperatures hovered around freezing. In parts of southern Minnesota, snow accumulations were as much as four inches.