Driver, Victims ID'd In Fatal Roseville Crash; Investigators Seeking To Speak With Possible Witnesses
ROSEVILLE, Minn. (WCCO) -- After a fatal crash claimed the lives of two people on Thursday, Roseville police are now asking witnesses to come forward.
The crash happened on Larpenteur Avenue at Woodbridge Court around 5:30 p.m.
Meredith Aikens, 45, and 47-year-old Robert Buxton were hit and killed while crossing Larpenteur.
The driver, 72-year-old John Rickey, of St. Paul, stopped at the scene.
"A friend of mine was on her way over here and she said she couldn't get through because all the streets were blocked," said neighbor Angela L. Sutherland.
Aikens lived in an apartment complex on Larpenteur and was hit just feet from her front door.
"It's just a sad situation for those victims or pedestrians that were killed. They have brothers and sisters and moms and dads and our heart go out to them," neighbor Dale Laidlaw said.
The driver was not arrested, but police did take a blood sample to see if alcohol was a factor, and they're also conducting a second search on his GMC Sierra to try and determine how fast he was going.
Surveillance video from a nearby business showed the driver turning onto Larpenteur Avenue just seconds before the crash.
Police are also asking potential witnesses to come forward. Specifically, the driver of a white SUV who was on the street just before the victims were hit, and the drivers of a silver sedan and a white sedan who drove by shortly after.
Additionally, investigators are seeking to speak with a pedestrian who was wearing a green jacket and briefly spoke with a St. Paul officer at the scene.
"This intersection, this is very dangerous. I've seen children almost get hit," Sutherland said.
Neighbors said they've seen close calls before when drivers speed by, and they believe the street could use better lighting.
"Crosswalk would be very good. The closest one is on Rice down here," Laidlaw said. "We prayed last night for both the victims and the one that hit them, and this morning we prayed also."
These people, or anyone with information on the crash, is asked to call investigators at 651-767-0640.