A 78-year-old Bloomington man who had been drinking allegedly steered his Ford F-150 the wrong way onto northbound Interstate 35W during Monday's evening rush hour, striking two other vehicles and leaving two drivers with life-threatening injuries. The crash near the West 82nd Street ramp forced a closure of northbound lanes during the evening commute.
According to FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, the Minnesota State Patrol responded to the crash shortly before 4 p.m. Monday after the pickup truck entered northbound I-35W from the West 82nd Street ramp while heading southbound in the northbound lanes. The truck struck a 2010 Honda Civic and a 2014 Acura RDX, according to the station's report. Both the F-150 driver and the Civic driver, a 32-year-old woman, were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries at Hennepin County Medical Center, while the RDX driver walked away uninjured.
The 32-year-old Civic driver is a Minneapolis resident, and the Acura RDX driver who escaped injury is a 24-year-old woman from Mounds View, according to Bring Me The News. All three vehicles involved were driven by Twin Cities area residents, the outlet's reporting shows. Road conditions at the scene were dry, per the state patrol report cited in the FOX 9 account, and the exact cause of the wrong-way entry remains under investigation.
Freeway Shut Down During Evening Commute
The crash forced a complete closure of northbound I-35W between 90th Street and 82nd Street in Bloomington during Monday's evening rush, Bring Me The News reported separately. Bloomington Fire, Allina EMS, and Bloomington Police all responded to the scene alongside state troopers, who closed the lanes to investigate.
Both critically injured drivers were taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, which operates as Minnesota's primary public safety-net hospital and a Level I Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center, according to FOX 9.
Potential Felony Charges Under Minnesota Law
If investigators confirm alcohol impairment contributed to the crash, the driver could face felony Criminal Vehicular Operation charges. Under Minnesota Statute § 609.2113, operating a vehicle negligently while under the influence of alcohol and causing great bodily harm is a felony carrying up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, according to the Minnesota Revisor's Office. The cause of the wrong-way entry remains under investigation.
Wrong-Way Crashes Remain Rare But Deadly
Wrong-way driving incidents are statistically uncommon but disproportionately severe. Minnesota Department of Public Safety statistics show wrong-way driving contributed to 330 crashes statewide in 2021; 25 of those crashes were fatal, and there were 155 injuries, according to CBS News.
The I-494 south-metro corridor is currently undergoing multi-year MnDOT reconstruction through 2026, per KARE 11.
State Patrol advises any driver who spots an oncoming wrong-way vehicle to pull over, stay alert, and call 911, per the same CBS News report. The cause of Monday's wrong-way entry remains under investigation.
