Two pedestrians hit by Blue Line train in south Minneapolis

Two pedestrians were struck and injured by Blue Line trains in two separate crashes Monday in south Minneapolis, Metro Transit officials said.

That makes 13 who have been hit this year and 107 since light-rail service along the 11-mile line between downtown Minneapolis and the Mall of America started in 2004.

In the first incident, a man was hit just as a train was pulling into the station at E. 46th Street and was taken from the scene in an ambulance. The man, identified by a witness as Michael Klever, was struck by a northbound train about 9:35 a.m. He was conscious but in distress as a woman held his hand before medical personnel took over.

Klever was in satisfactory condition at Hennepin County Medical Center on Monday afternoon, a hospital spokeswoman said.

He is expected to survive, said Metro Transit spokesman Howie Padilla.

Service was interrupted for about 30 minutes.

In the second incident about 11:30 a.m., a woman made "minor contact" with a northbound train as it pulled into the 50th Street/Minnehaha Park Station, said Metro Transit spokesman Drew Kerr. She was up walking shortly afterward but was taken to a hospital for observation. Her injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, Kerr said.

Service resumed around noon.

Monday's crashes continued a disturbing trend. On Friday at the 46th Street Station, bicyclist Jason M. McCormick, 29, of Minneapolis, was hit and killed. And last week, one person was killed and a second injured in two separate incidents along the Green Line in St. Paul.

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