A woman whose sport-utility vehicle plowed into a bus shelter earlier this week, killing a 45-year-old woman, was questioned but released without charges, police said Tuesday.
Police spokesman John Elder said the investigation is continuing and that the woman, who is in her late 30s or early 40s, could still be charged at a later date.
"We understand there's a strong desire to bring this case to its conclusion," Elder said.
The victim, who relatives identified as Billee Weaver, of Minneapolis, was declared dead at the scene Monday night.
Police said that shortly 5 p.m. the female driver was backing up a Mercury Mountaineer in the parking lot of the McDonald's near the corner 45th and Lyndale Avenues N. when the truck rapidly accelerated, hitting a car, tree and cement trash container before slamming into the bus shelter.
While it appears that alcohol or drugs were not involved, Elder said, police are awaiting toxicology results that could take several weeks. The woman had a valid driver's license, he said.
Relatives said Weaver was a mother of five and grandmother to 14.
Police said a man who was in the bus shelter at the time of the crash but fled immediately afterward was treated at a nearby hospital with noncritical injuries.
