One of the fatalities occurred when a SUV rear-ended a semi-truck in a work zone on I-694 and Shingle Creek Parkway in Brooklyn Center. A 1999 Ford Expedition was driving eastbound on the right shoulder in an attempt to go around traffic.  A semi-truck was stopped in the lane and was rear-ended by the SUV.  The driver of the SUV was pronounced dead at the scene.

Another fatal car crash occurred in Princeton Minnesota near Highway 95 at 160th Avenue in Mille Lacs County. The Minnesota State Patrol believes a 1999 GMC Sierra was headed northbound on County Road 7 and ran a stop sign broadsiding a Saturn, killing the passenger, an 18-year-old girl from Princeton.  It is not entirely clear why the driver missed the stop sign.  The Minnesota State Patrol does not believe alcohol was a factor for the crash.

So far, there have been 258 traffic deaths in Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.  This is up from 248 at this time in 2012.

There were 26,052 traffic crashes in work zones in the last five years in Minnesota, said the DPS.  Of those crashes, 41 people died and 4,017 were injured.