Two people were killed in separate highway crashes over the weekend. A St. Paul driver rear-ended a car on Interstate 35 in Faribault on Saturday, setting into motion several other crashes, killing an Eden Prairie man and seriously injuring his passenger, according to the State Patrol.
Chad Gibson, 40, was driving south on I-35 in a Chevrolet Avalanche when he took his eyes from the road at about 11:45 a.m., the State Patrol said. Gibson looked back up, saw traffic was stopped and rear-ended a Kia Sorrento at highway speeds. The Kia's driver, 63-year old Scott Connell, was killed and the passenger, 60-year-old Edda Connell, was seriously injured. Both were from Eden Prairie, the patrol said.
The Kia hit a Subaru carrying five members of the Curlee family from St. Louis and then spun into a Ford Edge, according to the agency. David and Alexa Kirby of Waterloo, Iowa, were in the Ford Edge.
The State Patrol did not indicate the condition of the Curlees, the Kirbys or Gibson.
The name of the 63-year-old Kia driver has not been released. He was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where he died, according to the State Patrol. Connell, his passenger, was listed in serious condition at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale.
Gibson had a valid Minnesota driver's license at the time of the accident, according to the State Patrol. He has been convicted of dozens of traffic offenses, including speeding, three drunken driving instances between 2002 and 2009, and driving after revocation at least seven times between 2008 and 2010, according to Minnesota court records. The State Patrol is investigating another fatal incident that killed a pedestrian at 5:15 a.m. on Sunday on Hwy. 169 and Belle Plaine Trail.
An unknown vehicle struck pedestrian Derek Fath, 29, of Belle Plaine in the northbound lanes of Hwy. 169. The State Patrol is seeking more information from witnesses or anyone who knows more about the driver. They can call the West Metro State Patrol 651-582-1503.
Erin Adler • 612-673-1781
