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One dead after wrong-way crash in Waconia

MN-5 was closed in both directions for a portion of time on Monday.

WACONIA, Minn. — One person is dead and three recovering from injuries following a serious crash on MN-5 at Hartman Drive in Waconia Monday afternoon. 

The Minnesota State Patrol website says the driver of a 2015 Chevy Silverado was driving the wrong way in the westbound lanes of MN-5 when she struck another Chevy pickup head-on. Investigators say a third vehicle, a Dodge van, then rear ended one of the trucks.

The driver of the pickup that was struck head-on, 45-year-old Michael Jon Clarkson of Rockford, did not survive. The driver of the wrong-way truck, a 57-year-old woman from Cokato, suffered life-threatening injuries and is hospitalized at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC). Both of those drivers had to be cut from the twisted metal of their vehicles. 

Two people in the Dodge van suffered non-life threatening injuries. 

Road conditions were described as wet at the time of the fatal incident, although it's not clear that played a factor in the crash. 

State Highway 5 was closed for several hours after the crash. 

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