Northbound Hwy. 169 reopens after multivehicle crash; one killed in separate crash

A multivehicle crash late in the Tuesday evening rush hour tied up traffic on northbound Hwy. 169 at Valley View Road in Edina.

For about an hour, traffic was being diverted from the highway to Valley View Road, the Minnesota Department of Transportation said. The left lane reopened for a time before the crash was cleared.

"Lots of debris in the road as well," MnDOT advised in announcing the closure. There was no immediate word on injuries or the cause.

Earlier Tuesday morning, a semitrailer truck crash further south on Hwy. 169 triggered a chain reaction among three vehicles, killing one and critically injuring another.

Just before 8 a.m., a semi stopped in the busy northbound lane near Canterbury Road in Shakopee, when a Ford Explorer two cars back slammed into a Chrysler minivan that stopped behind the large truck. The rear-end hit wedged the minivan into the back of the semi, severely injuring 52-year-old passenger Shane Jones of Jordan. She later died at St. Francis Hospital.

The minivan driver, 57-year-old Milton Alberto Jones, was rushed to Hennepin County Medical Center with critical injuries. Both were wearing their seat belts.

Heidi Jensen, 30, of New Prague, was uninjured in the Ford Explorer. The semi driver was also unharmed.

Both lanes of the highway were closed for several hours, but reopened about 10 a.m.

Staff writer Liz Sawyer contributed to this report.