A minivan driver lost control just after 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, rolled over, and slammed into the Interstate 494 bridge along southbound Highway 100 in Bloomington. The vehicle caught fire on impact, and the driver did not survive. The crash shut down the highway for about two hours before crews reopened a portion of the roadway.
According to CBS News, Minnesota Department of Transportation traffic cameras captured the vehicle engulfed in flames after the rollover, offering a stark visual of just how violent the impact against the bridge structure was. The station reported that the fatal wreck forced the closure of a stretch of southbound Highway 100 before crews cleared the scene and reopened the road. No details about the driver's identity have been released.
A Second Deadly Crash at the Same Junction in Weeks
Wednesday's crash marks the second fatal wreck at the I-494 and Highway 100 interchange in less than two months. On June 13, two SUVs and a semi-truck collided in the westbound lanes of I-494 near Highway 100 in a separate predawn crash, an incident Hoodline previously reported also required an extended freeway closure for investigation and clearing.
The back-to-back fatalities highlight recurring safety concerns at one of the busiest highway junctions in the southern Twin Cities metro. It remains unresolved whether mechanical failure, a medical emergency, excessive speed, or work-zone lane reconfigurations played a role in Wednesday's rollover; that determination has not been made public.
Construction Zone Adds Complexity Near the Interchange
The crash site sits within an active construction zone tied to a major, multi-year overhaul of the corridor. The Minnesota Department of Transportation is currently rebuilding aging bridges and adding new E-ZPass lanes through Bloomington, Edina, and Richfield around the Highway 100 interchange, with work continuing through the fall, part of a $377 million first phase of a broader project extending through 2030.
As recently as July, MnDOT instituted full weekend and overnight closures of I-494 between Highway 100 and Highway 77 so crews could complete pipe crossings and bridge deck work, with detours routing drivers onto nearby arterials including Highway 100. Whether that ongoing construction contributed to Wednesday's crash has not been determined.
Crash Comes During Minnesota's “100 Deadly Days”
Wednesday's fatality adds to a grim statewide tally. As of Tuesday, Minnesota had recorded 212 traffic fatalities so far this year, according to preliminary tracking data from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. State crash records also show 35,332 total motor vehicle crashes logged statewide through the same date, including 199 fatal collisions and 1,254 crashes in active work zones.
The crash falls within what traffic safety officials call the “100 Deadly Days,” the stretch between Memorial Day and Labor Day when roughly 40% of Minnesota's annual traffic fatalities have historically occurred, driven by higher travel volumes and elevated warm-weather driving speeds. The Department of Public Safety's Office of Traffic Safety points to four factors that most often drive fatal crashes statewide: excessive speed, alcohol or drug impairment, unbelted occupants, and distracted driving, with speed remaining the single largest contributor to Minnesota traffic deaths.
Despite the recent spate of crashes at the Highway 100 interchange, statewide numbers had been trending in a more encouraging direction. Traffic fatalities across Minnesota dropped to 363 in 2025, a decline of more than 20% from the 479 deaths recorded in 2024, marking the first time since 2019 that annual deaths fell below 400. Under the state's Strategic Highway Safety Plan for 2025 through 2029, MnDOT's Toward Zero Deaths initiative has set a goal of holding annual roadway fatalities to no more than 225 by 2030.
