A 51-year-old semitrailer truck driver was struck and killed Friday night after he stopped and got out of his cab on the side of a busy highway in Richfield, according to the State Patrol.
A little after 7 p.m., Hamed Eliawy Nahi Alsaady, of Fridley, was on the right shoulder on southbound Interstate 35W at 66th Street looking at a blown tire on his trailer when a car drifted to the right, striking the truck and Alsaady.
Based on preliminary information, the cause of the crash appeared to be the "momentary distraction" of the other driver, said Patrol Lt. Eric Roeske.
The 21-year-old driver from St. Paul was taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis with minor injuries.
The crash required a couple of lanes of the highway to be blocked as crews worked to clear the scene.
NICOLE NORFLEET
