Seat belts and airbags were a blessing for the passengers of a Mini Cooper hit Friday by a St. Paul fire truck passing through a blacked-out intersection in the Highland Park neighborhood.

The ladder truck was heading west on Randolph Avenue about 5:10 a.m. in response to a call related to an electrical power failure in the area, said Dave Galbraith, deputy chief of the St. Paul Fire Department.

A downed wire at Cretin and St. Clair avenues cut power to about 2,500 Xcel Energy customers early Friday.

The traffic lights were out at Randolph and Cretin avenues, and the truck hit the small car. The car's three occupants were taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul with minor injuries.

SARAH LEMAGIE