Minnesota traffic deaths rise in 2015

Published 10:20 am Wednesday, January 6, 2016

The number of people killed in traffic crashes in Minnesota rose in 2015, though Austin and Mower County didn’t see any deaths on local roads.

Preliminary figures from the state Office of Traffic Safety show 396 people have died so far on Minnesota roads last year. That’s up from 361 traffic fatalities for all of 2014.minntrafficfatalities

According to the Mower County Sheriff’s Office, there were no traffic fatalities on Mower County rural roads or Austin roads. There were two on state and federal highways in the county, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

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However, Helayna Nguyen, 19, of Austin died in a crash in Waseca County in April 2015.

When all the final traffic numbers are in, the state projects 405 road fatalities in 2015. That would be the highest number of Minnesota traffic deaths since 2010 when 411 people died.

According to the preliminary numbers, Minnesota saw 361 fatal crashes to date in 2015, compared with 319 in 2014. The number of motorcyclists, pedestrians and bicyclists killed in crashes were all up last year, compared with the previous year.

Safety officials are calling on Minnesotans to commit to safe driving in the new year.

—The Associated Press contributed to this report.