2 killed in I-694 crash involving wrong-way driver in Oakdale, freeway reopens

The northbound lanes of Interstate 694 in Oakdale were closed for hours early Thursday as authorities investigated a fatal crash involving a wrong-way driver.

The lanes, which had been closed at N. 10th Street, reopened just after 7 a.m., the Minnesota Department of Transportation said.

A motorist driving a Toyota Corolla south in the northbound lanes hit a Pontiac Vibe head-on around 2:25 a.m. near Stillwater Boulevard. The Vibe spun out and struck a van, which was also headed north, the State Patrol said.

The driver of the Vibe, a 32-year-old-man from Rice, Minn., was ejected from the vehicle and died. A 3-year-old girl who was riding in the Vibe was taken to Regions Hospital with critical injuries, the patrol said.

The driver of the van, a 35-year-old man from Buffalo, N.Y., was also taken to the hospital with minor injuries, the patrol said.

The patrol said the driver of the Corolla, a 28-year-old man from St. Paul, was extricated from the vehicle and died shortly afterward.

Traffic cameras showed one of the vehicles landed in the center median. The other vehicle lost a tire and came to rest in the traffic lanes.