Hundreds of crashes reported across Minnesota

Roads slickened by a spring snowstorm caused a messy and dangerous commute for drivers throughout the state Tuesday night.

The State Patrol and local authorities responded to stalled vehicles, spinouts and cars in ditches as snow totaled 8.2 inches in Minneapolis and St. Paul and 6.5 inches in St. Cloud.

With a low of 9 degrees overnight, roads were expected to be treacherous again into Wednesday. Temperatures below freezing and drifting snow were expected to combine to create continued hazardous conditions.

Statewide, the patrol reported 421 crashes, 32 with injuries, in 24 hours from Monday to Tuesday evening. It reported 402 spinouts and 15 jackknifed semis.

The snow also clogged roads across the Twin Cities as commuters headed home. Metro Transit reported that several buses were running late and several routes were on snow detours.

More than 180 plows were on the highways and freeways Tuesday in the Twin Cities trying to keep the roads clear.

No snow emergencies had been declared in Minneapolis or St. Paul as of late Tuesday night.

Interstate 94 was partly closed for a short time near Mounds Boulevard around 7 p.m. on a report of a crash. Further information was not immediately available.

In Inver Grove Heights, police tweeted a photo of a vehicle stuck in a ditch off Hwy. 52 just before 7:30 p.m. with the caution, "#drive­safe." No injuries were reported.

At 2:30 p.m., the patrol responded to an injury accident near Worthington on a report of a Chevrolet van losing control, going into a ditch and rolling to a stop. The driver, a 64-year-old man from Sioux Falls, S.D., was taken to the hospital with noncritical injuries.

Just before 7 a.m., a minivan headed westbound on Hwy. 99 in Rice County lost control, left the roadway and rolled. The patrol reported several jackknifed semitrailer trucks, one just northwest of Worthington and another in Monticello.

Karen Zamora • 612-673-4647 Twitter: @KarenAnelZamora