Good Samaritan, Retired Officer Killed on Minnesota Highway

Elk River, MN (MinnesotaNow) - A retired Minnesota law enforcement officer was the victim of a weather-related traffic incident earlier this week.

The deadly incident was reported just before 6:30 a.m. Tuesday in Elk River. A statement issued by the Elk River Police Department says officers responded to reports that a pedestrian had been struck by a vehicle on Highway 169.

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The injured pedestrian was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was identified as 53-year-old Clayton Connolly of Nowthen.

photo courtesy GoFundMe

Elk River police say Connolly had stopped to assist another motorist whose vehicle was stuck in snow and ice. While he was working to free the vehicle, he was struck by another vehicle exiting northbound Highway 169.

The news release says Connolly was a retired Brooklyn Park police officer who served the Twin Cities suburb as a law enforcement officer for 20 years.

A GoFundMe online fundraiser has been established to benefit his family. As of Friday morning, more than $26,000 had been donated.

The Minnesota State Patrol reports troopers responded to at least 150 traffic crashes statewide Thursday as Minnesota was hit by a storm system that produced blizzard conditions in portions of southeastern Minnesota. Fourteen of the incidents resulted in injuries.

There were also more than 135 reports of vehicles off the roadway or vehicle spin-outs.

Photo by Andy Brownell TSM Rochester

One of the injury crashes was reported in Mower County. The State Patrol says the 3 vehicle collision occurred on Highway 56 near Waltham around 4:40 PM.

The crash report indicates it involved a car, a pickup truck, and an SUV that were all traveling southbound on the highway. The driver of the SUV, 54-year-old Tarek Heinerman of Austin was transported to the Mayo Clinic Health System Hospital in Austin with non-life-threatening injuries. The drivers of the 2 other vehicles were not hurt.

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Source: Good Samaritan, Retired Officer Killed on Minnesota Highway

Filed Under: Austin, Minnesota State Patrol, mayo clinic, fatal crash, Mower County, Southeastern Minnesota, Brooklyn Park

Categories: State News