2 Killed In Coon Rapids Crash, Fire
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Two people lost their lives in a crash Saturday night in Coon Rapids and authorities are trying to figure out how it happened.
The crash occurred on Northdale Boulevard, near the Northstar Commuter Lot. Anoka County deputies say a car was driving extremely fast when it rounded a curve and slammed into a pole.
The 39-year-old male driver and 38-year-old female passenger died at the scene. Their names have yet to be released.
Ken Pack, Jr., of Coon Rapids, was first on scene.
"I was just in shock," he said. "I just couldn't believe I saw it."
Pack was traveling down Northdale, heading to Home Depot around 9:40 p.m., when the car passed him in the opposite direction.
"I look and this car had to be going at least 80 mph, just had to be, the tires are screeching and I'm thinking, 'This guy isn't going to make it, he's not going to make this curve.'"
So he followed his gut and turned around. A terrible scene awaited him: a car slammed into a concrete power line pole.
"The passenger was ejected," Pack said. "There was just nothing I could do to her."
Pack used to be a firefighter, so he tried to help. But he quickly realized the neither the passenger nor the driver had a pulse.
He said the impact was so major the engine of the car landed about 8 feet away and then a fire erupted at the scene.
It's something he still can't believe he saw.
"Why, why would you take that curve so fast, and it wasn't just a little fast, it was all-out unbelievable, crazy," he said.
Firefighters knocked down the flames.
"You know, if there's any relief to the families, it was instant, there was...no pain and suffering at all."
Investigators talked with Pack.
They are going to use that information along with a coroner's investigation to try and get some answers as to how the crash happened.