3 hurt in Blaine car-pickup collision; alcohol suspected

Star Tribune

Last update: April 14, 2009 - 11:41 PM

A pickup truck driver who had been drinking veered into oncoming traffic in Blaine and crashed into a car, seriously hurting its driver and a passenger, authorities said Tuesday.

The collision occurred on Sunday shortly before 9 p.m. in the 11900 block of Lexington Avenue, police said.

The car passenger, a 62-year-old woman from Coon Rapids, was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center in critical condition. The car's driver, a 61-year-old man from Coon Rapids, was taken to HCMC with serious injuries.

The pickup driver, a 48-year-old man from Circle Pines, was seriously hurt and taken to Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids.

Identities are being withheld until "formal charging of the suspect," police said in a news release.

"It is believed that alcohol consumption" by the pickup driver "may be a contributing factor in the crash," the news release said.

PAUL WALSH