The driver of a car speeding the wrong way early Thursday on University Avenue in southeast Minneapolis crashed into a light pole and was thrown to his death, police said.
Wrong-way, speeding driver crashes and dies on University Avenue
The driver's door was sheared off, and he was thrown to his death, police said. The car kept going for a block.
April 15, 2016 at 4:14AM
Officers found the man lying on the sidewalk in critical condition in the 3000 block of University Avenue SE. about 1:20 a.m. The vehicle was about a block down the road next to a building on the sidewalk, its driver's side door sheared off, police added.
"Oh, dear lord, we're very thankful" no one was run over, said police spokesman John Elder. "This could have been catastrophic being near the U of M with people being out."
The driver was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center by ambulance, where he died, Elder said.
Elder said the driver appeared to be 30 to 40, but his identity has yet to be confirmed.
The driver was moving "at a high rate of speed" and going the wrong way on the one-way section of University Avenue when he hit the curb and light pole near 30th Avenue, Elder said. The site of the crash is just east of the Prospect Park light rail station.
The vehicle also struck a tree and a gas meter before stopping about a block away, the spokesman added.
There was no obvious evidence at the scene that the driver had been drinking. The Hennepin County medical examiner's office will make a final determination on whether alcohol played a role in the crash.
Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768 Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
From small businesses to giants like Target, retailers are benefitting from the $10 billion industry for South Korean pop music, including its revival of physical album sales.
