ANOKA, Minn. - The Minnesota State Patrol has identified a 16-year-old girl was who was killed while crossing Highway 10 near Verndale Avenue in Anoka County Monday night
The incident occurred at about 7:40 p.m. Witnesses say Hannah Craft of Ramsey tried to cross at an uncontrolled stretch of Highway 10 when she was struck by a car traveling westbound.
Craft reportedly crossed the highway to get to her job at McDonald's, discovered she wasn't scheduled to work Monday night, then jogged back across the road to return home. It was then that she was struck.
McDonald's franchise owner Kris Genck released a written statement on the teen's death. It reads:
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim's family. We are fully cooperating with the Anoka County Police Department in their investigation into this tragic accident. As such, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further. We respectfully request that additional inquiries be directed to the Anoka County Police Department."
KARE 11 has confirmed that Craft was a junior at Pines Alternative School in Lino Lakes. She died just two weeks short of her 17th birthday.
The State Patrol says the driver of the car is a 39-year-old man from Mound. Traffic on Highway 10 was re-routed while the road was closed after the accident.
The scene was cleared at about 9:45 p.m.
Monday's accident happened about 1.5 miles from an intersection where a Texas couple was struck and killed two months ago. The two were crossing against a red light on foot when they were struck.
That fatal accident was the last straw for Ramsey Mayor Bob Ramsey, who is pushing a plan to reroute Highway 10 as part of a bridge interchange and overpass project that would separate traffic from pedestrians.
The stretch hosts 47,000 motorists a day and has now seen four deaths in the past six months.
Ramsey says the $350 million bridge interchange would solve the safety issues at the intersection but has reached funding roadblocks. He vows to lobby for state and federal funding again after the Nettelfields' deaths.
"What we need to do is move Highway 10 closer to the railroad tracks," Ramsey told KARE 11's Lindsey Seavert in September. "It's been that plan for 10 years, hasn't happened yet."
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