Two drivers crossed into oncoming traffic together on a Twin Cities highway late at night and crashed, leaving one of the motorists dead and his passenger critically injured, officials said.
The incident involving two crash scenes occurred about 11:15 p.m. Saturday in Eagan on Hwy. 149 near Hwy. 55, the State Patrol said.
The vehicles, an SUV and a sedan, were heading south on Hwy. 149 and “both ... crossed into the northbound lanes,” a patrol statement read. The SUV hit a light pole, while the sedan crashed into a ditch, the statement continued.
The driver who hit the light pole died and was identified by the patrol as Reed Robert Schultz, 19, of Savage. His passenger, 18-year-old Finnian Thomas Cronin of Edina, remains in critical condition Wednesday at Regions Hospital.
Jordan John Wieland, 20, of White Bear Lake was driving the sedan that went into the ditch. The patrol said Wieland suffered noncritical injuries. The patrol said it suspects he was under the influence of alcohol at the time.
As for the possibility of anyone being charged with a crime, Patrol Lt. Mike Lee said the incident remains under investigation “so it has not been sent [for] prosecution.”
