Cliff Lake Caron, 30, of St. Cloud was killed Friday night after a car struck him on Highway 60 just east of Morristown.
The Minnesota State Patrol is investigating the Rice County crash, KROC-AM reported. A preliminary crash report placed the collision at about 10:40 p.m. on Nov. 13.
Nicholas Kamau Wachira, 52, of North Mankato was driving west on Highway 60 when he struck Caron. Wachira was not injured.
The preliminary report indicated that alcohol was not involved. The State Patrol's investigation of the fatal crash is ongoing.
Minnesota law addresses both pedestrian conduct and driver responsibility on roadways. It says pedestrians crossing outside a marked crosswalk or intersection generally must yield to vehicles, while also requiring drivers to use due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian on a roadway. The statute further says people walking along a roadway should, when practicable, use the left side or shoulder and give way to oncoming traffic. The crash report does not describe Caron’s position before he was struck. The pedestrian statute sets out those rules.
The crash comes amid a wider toll on Minnesota pedestrians: 53 were killed in crashes with motor vehicles in 2024, the second-highest annual count in the five years covered by the state’s latest transportation performance report. The report also counted 205 pedestrians seriously injured that year. Those statewide figures provide context, but do not establish what led to Caron’s death. MnDOT’s 2025 Transportation System Performance Report tracks pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries from 2020 through 2024.
