Two people were killed in separate traffic crashes in Minnesota during a 15-hour period over the weekend.

The first wreck occurred Friday about 10:15 p.m. in Ramsey County. A 50-year-old St. Paul man was heading east on Interstate 694 at Snelling Avenue when his car ran off the road, hit a guardrail and eventually struck a bridge pillar.

The driver, who has not been identified pending family notification, died at the scene.

A head-on collision on Hwy. 1 in far northwestern Minnesota left one person dead Saturday afternoon.

Cory C. Ingeman, of Karlstad, was headed east on Hwy. 1 in a pickup truck when he crossed the centerline and struck an oncoming van. Police suspect alcohol use by Ingeman played a role in the crash, according to the State Patrol.

A 49-year-old passenger in the van from Thief River Falls was killed, and the driver of the van, 31-year-old Rachel Houle, of Warren, was treated for noncritical injuries at North Valley Health Center. Ingeman, 25, was not harmed.

The identity of the dead passenger has yet to be released.

LIZ SAWYER