A driver, who appeared drunk to police, struck and killed a 56-year-old man early Sunday morning in Richfield.
Suspected drunken driver hits, kills 56-year-old pedestrian in Richfield
The motorist approached officers while appearing inebriated after the Sunday morning collision, police said.
City police said officers found the man dead when they responded shortly after 1 a.m. to a report of a person lying in southbound Nicollet Avenue north of 66th Street.
The driver, a 40-year-old Richfield man, was parked nearby, police said in a statement. As he approached officers, he appeared drunk and was arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired and criminal vehicular operation, police said.
He remained jailed Sunday. Records show he was convicted of a low-level traffic offense in Minneapolis in 2019.
The pedestrian wasn’t in the crosswalk when he was struck, a preliminary investigation showed. The Minnesota State Patrol assisted with crash reconstruction, and the incident remained under investigation.
The identities of the driver and victim were not immediately released.
Felicia Reilly is reportedly the first woman officer in St. Paul to die as a result of injuries sustained in the line of duty.