Highway 62 reopening following deadly crash near MSP Airport
MINNEAPOLIS -- A fatal crash closed both directions of Highway 62 near Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for hours Monday morning.
As of noon, both directions of Highway 62 between 28th and 34th Avenues are back open. The eastbound lanes reopened later in the morning.
The Minnesota State Patrol said the crash was fatal. A truck with a trailer was heading east on Highway 62 when it entered the ditch and hit the underside of the 34th Avenue bridge, the patrol said. It happened just before 3:30 a.m.
Later Monday morning, authorities updated that the victim, a passenger in the truck, was 21-year-old Preston Rhyn Haley from Como, Colorado. The driver -- 34-year-old Brian Dale Cravey from Wills Point, Texas -- was said to have life-threatening injuries. Fire crews reported he was in critical condition when he was taken to the hospital.
Authorities say it appears alcohol may have been a factor in the crash.
A secondary crash involved a state patrol squad car and Minneapolis Fire Department truck, the patrol said.
The patrol said both vehicles' emergency lights were activated.
"While one of our fire ladder trucks were responding and attempting to turn around at a turnabout for emergency vehicles, they were in an accident with a State Trooper that was also responding to the emergency," the city's fire department reported.
No firefighters were hurt in the incident. The trooper was said to have been injured in the crash.
Traffic was being diverted off of the highway during the morning rush hour.
