(KNSI) — One of two people killed in a crash on I-694 Thursday is from central Minnesota.
According to the Minnesota State Patrol’s incident report, 32-year-old Alexander John Ripka of Rice was killed when a driver going south in the northbound lanes hit him head-on around 2:25 Thursday morning. The impact caused his Pontiac Vibe to spin out and hit a Mercedes Sprinter Van driven by 35-year-old Ibrahim Theophile of Buffalo, New York. Crash investigators say Ripka was not wearing his seatbelt and was ejected. He died at the scene. A three-year-old girl in the vehicle with him was seriously injured and rushed to Gillette Children’s Hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The wrong way driver, 28-year-old William Alexander Flores-Zamora, had to be extricated from his car and died a short time later. The driver of the van suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Regions Hospital for treatment.
The report says it is unknown if Flores-Zamora was under the influence.
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