Crime & Safety

2013 Traffic Deaths in Minnesota Could Reach 450

There were 27 more traffic accident deaths this year than at the same time last year.

There have already been 202 traffic deaths in Minnesota this year, according to the Minnesota Department of Safety (DPS)

In 2012 the state did not reach 200 deaths until August 21. At the current rate, the number of traffic deaths in Minnesota by the end of the year could reach 450.

Part of the reason for the increase is the spike in motorcycle rider deaths, said the Minnesota DPS. This year there have been 38 rider deaths from traffic accidents. Around this time last year there were 27 deaths. Overall there were 55 rider deaths in 2012. 

In Dakota County there have been 11 traffic deaths so far this year. Burnsville has not remained untouched by traffic deaths.

Former Burnsville resident Denise Sames died earlier this month when an SUV hit her motorcycle in Jordan. 

In late June, a Burnsville man died in an accident involving a suspected drunk driver. Jeffrey Richard Trondson, 29, was riding a motorcycle at the time of the crash. A Lakeville woman was charged with multiple offenses related to the incident, one of which was felony criminal vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol.

Officials remind drivers to share the road and look twice for motorcycle riders, and they suggest motorcyclists hone skills in rider courses

The Minnesota DPS created a Crash Victims Memorial website to help families remember their loved ones and to give faces to the statistics. 

In an accident that happened in another state, many mourned at the death of Burnsville High School graduate Taylor Ziebol in an auto accident in Kansas. 

“We should not tolerate this increase in deaths," said Lt. Col. Matt Langer of the State Patrol in the DPS news release. "Now is the time for each of us to rededicate ourselves to being safe behind the wheel. The mistakes we make when driving have very real and very violent results.”

Note: The number of traffic deaths this year and in the county are preliminary. 

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