Three people died in three separate traffic incidents across the state in less than a 24-hour period, authorities said.

The string of fatal collisions began Thursday evening when 20-year-old Johnathan M. Byrne lost control of his Mitsubishi Galant while traveling on the wet roadway of Hwy. 10 near the intersection with Hwy. 61 in Dakota County. His vehicle spun into eastbound traffic and a Peterbilt truck was unable to avoid hitting him, according to the State Patrol.

Byrne, of Prescott, Wis., died at the scene. The truck driver, also of Wisconsin, was uninjured.

A broadside crash in Clearwater County on Friday morning killed one driver and seriously injured another, both of whom had a young child in the car.

The Sheriff's Office responded to the call at County Road 27 and Hwy. 92 just before 9 a.m., authorities said. Sally L. Littlewolf, 65, of Waubun, Minn., was traveling east on County Road 27 in a 2002 Chevy Impala when she ran a stop sign and struck a Buick Park Avenue headed north on Hwy. 92.

The Buick driver, 77-year-old Milo R. Fultz, was killed in the collision. His passenger, a 10-year-old girl, and Littlewolf's 4-year-old passenger sustained nonlife-threatening injuries.

Littlewolf, who was seriously injured, and the two children were taken to Sanford Health in Fargo, N.D. Fultz was the only person wearing a seatbelt, the State Patrol said.

Later Friday afternoon, one person was killed in St. Paul when the truck they were driving veered across Cleveland Avenue, crashed into a ditch and caught fire.

The St. Paul and Falcon Heights fire departments responded to the crash at 2:47 p.m. near Cleveland and Larpenteur Avenues on the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus, a U spokeswoman said.

Witnesses reported seeing the truck heading southbound on Cleveland before it veered across the northbound lane and collided with trees in a roadside ditch, the spokeswoman said.

The crash is under investigation. The State Patrol is assisting with crash reconstruction.

Emma Nelson • 952-746-3287

Liz Sawyer • 612-673-4648