An elderly man riding in a transit van was killed Wednesday in a crash with a second vehicle at an intersection in St. Paul where traffic lights were not working due to a power failure.
Man dies in crash at St. Paul intersection where traffic lights were not working
The crash happened Wednesday in the early morning darkness at Como Avenue and Lexington Parkway, the power still out from recent storms.
Officers arrived at Lexington Parkway and Como Avenue about 5:15 a.m. to find the van had rolled on its side. A man in his 90s was still inside. Members of the St. Paul Fire Department took the man to Regions Hospital where he later died of his injuries, said Sgt. Mike Ernster with the St. Paul Police Department.
The man’s name has not been released. The van driver suffered minor injuries, Ernster said.
The van was heading east on Como Avenue when it was struck by a Dodge Journey heading north on Lexington, Ernster said.
Power in the Como Park neighborhood was still out after Monday and Tuesday’s storms, and traffic lights and street lights were not operating at the time of the crash, police said.
An investigation into the crash continues, but impairment is not believed to be a factor, Ernster said.
St. Paul writer Kao Kalia Yang has won four Minnesota Book Awards and was recognized by the Guggenheim Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts.