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St. Joseph electrician among 2 killed in I-35W construction zone crash

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Oct 14, 2011 at 8:57 am

BURNSVILLE, Minn. (AP) - The Minnesota State Patrol has identified two workers killed when a sports car swerved off a Twin Cities highway and crashed into a construction zone.

The victims are 47-year-old Craig D. Carlson of Ramsey and 44-year-old Ronald J. Rajkowski of St. Joseph. The patrol says they worked for Egan Co. of Brooklyn Park, a contractor.

A third worker was not hurt.

The patrol says a 21-year-old man from Raymore, Mo., was driving a Mitsubishi 3000GT alone and was not hurt. The driver is cooperating with investigators and was not arrested.

The crash happened about 12:30 p.m. Thursday on Interstate 35W in Burnsville.

Meanwhile, state transportation officials renewed their plea for drivers to stay alert in construction zones.

There are more than 80 state highway projects under way in the Twin Cities metro area alone this year. DOT spokesman Kevin Gutknecht says construction workers "have a right to go home to their families safe and sound."