A driver died Tuesday afternoon in a head-on crash on Hwy. 12 in Maple Plain, a week after another driver lost her life on that same stretch of road in a similar crash.

Around 4:30 p.m. authorities were dispatched to a crash involving two vehicles on Hwy. 12 just east of County Road 83 in Maple Plain, according to the West Hennepin Public Safety Department. When authorities arrived, they discovered two pickup trucks had collided head-on.

One driver, whose identity had yet to be released Tuesday night, was pronounced dead at the scene. The other was taken to North Memorial Medical Center with noncritical injuries.

According to preliminary investigations, the driver who died was traveling east on the highway and crossed over the center line and struck the other vehicle, which was traveling west. Authorities are investigating what caused the driver to cross the line.

On Dec. 2, Jamie Lee Whipperman, 24, of Plymouth, died in a head-on crash involving a UPS truck with tandem trailers and her car on Hwy. 12 just east of Maple Plain.

A preliminary investigation indicated that the semitrailer truck was heading east on Hwy. 12 when the passenger car heading west crossed the centerline and hit the semi-truck head on.

Whipperman, who was driving the car, was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the semi was transported to a hospital with minor injuries.

The West Hennepin Public Safety Department and the Minnesota State Patrol are investigating Tuesday's crash.

STAFF REPORTS