The Minnesota State Patrol has added details to Sunday afternoon's wrong-way crash on Interstate 35W at 82nd Street. Two people were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, and the patrol says the driver who caused the crash is suspected of having alcohol in his system.
The State Patrol said the crash happened just before 4 p.m. on Oct. 12. A 78-year-old Bloomington man driving a Ford F-150 went southbound into the northbound lane at the 82nd Street ramp. His pickup struck 2 northbound vehicles: a Honda Civic and an Acura RDX.
The Civic's driver, a 32-year-old Minneapolis woman, was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, the patrol said. The F-150's driver was also taken to HCMC with life-threatening injuries. The Acura's driver, a 24-year-old Mounds View woman, was not hurt.
The patrol says it suspects the 78-year-old had alcohol in his system at the time of the crash. That is a suspicion, not a finding. No charges had been announced, and the patrol has not released any of the drivers' names. The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone who regularly uses the 35W and 494 interchange area knows the 82nd Street ramps sit in a tight, busy stretch. A driver going the wrong way there leaves northbound traffic very little time to react. If you see a wrong-way driver, pull as far right as you safely can and call 911 with the direction of travel and the nearest cross street.
