CORCORAN, Minn. - Highway 55 is back open in Corcoran, nearly six hours after two people were killed in a head-on crash at the height of morning rush hour Thursday.
Police say the two vehicles collided shortly before 7 a.m. on the 23000 block of Highway 55, not far from the Medina border. First responders attempted lifesaving efforts on both drivers, but were unsuccessful. They were pronounced dead on the scene.
An employee of a business near the crash site reports the two vehicles involved were an SUV and a pickup truck, and it appears one of the drivers crossed the centerline and struck the other head-on. One of those vehicles ended up careening into the driveway of Laurent Motor Cafe.
Highway 55 will remain closed in both directions until the crash scene is reconstructed and vehicles removed. Driver identification and family notification efforts are currently underway.
While this is the first fatal accident in recent years, Corcoran police say over the last five years there have been a total of 50 crashes at this intersection.
In 12 of those crashes people were injured.
MnDOT says that intersection sees an average of 10 accidents a year despite several safety improvements that have been made in recent years.
In 2010 the state spent $10 million resurfacing highway 55 from Medina to Rockford.
MnDOT says rumble strips were also to the sides and center of the road, along with a few new turn lanes and a guard rail to minimize accidents.