A teenager was killed Sunday afternoon in a single-vehicle crash on Minnesota 55 in Eagan, leaving the westbound lanes of the highway closed for nearly four hours.
The crash occurred near the Lone Oak Road intersection about 4:20 p.m., when the driver of a westbound Ford F-250 pickup lost control of the vehicle on icy roads and rolled it into the median, according to the Minnesota State Patrol website.
A 17-year-old Minneapolis girl who was riding in the back seat was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene. She was not wearing a seatbelt.
The 57-year-old man driving the truck was wearing a seatbelt and was uninjured, as were his two other passengers — a 13-year-old girl and a 54-year-old woman. All are from Minneapolis.
Alcohol was not a factor in the crash, the State Patrol said.
Minnesota 55 reopened about 8 p.m.
The National Weather Service warned drivers that scattered snow Sunday afternoon made for icy roads in several areas.
While there wasn’t much snow that fell, the snow fall combined with temperatures in the 20s created slick roads, the weather service said in a Tweet.
We’ve mentioned this once, but will reiterate it again. The snow earlier today as made for some VERY ICY patches on the roads. We’ve now seen a fatal accident in Eagan and another shut down 35W in Bloomington. SLOW DOWN and get where you’re going safely! #mnwx #wiwx pic.twitter.com/i2IQk47XMz
— NWS Twin Cities (@NWSTwinCities) December 13, 2020
Another crash — this one involving four vehicles — temporarily closed the northbound lanes of Interstate 35W in Bloomington about 5:30 p.m. at 90th Street.