One dead after four-car crash on I-35E

The Minnesota State Patrol is investigating a fiery crash that killed one person and closed northbound I-35E in Lino Lakes for several hours last night.

Lieutenant Matt Langer with the State Patrol said a construction project had slowed traffic in the area. At about 9 p.m., a Honda Civic traveling at freeway speed apparently smashed into a Volkswagen at the back of the line of slow-moving traffic near 80th street, about a mile and a half south of the 35W-35E junction.

Langer said the investigation will try to confirm more details about the incident.

"The preliminary information that we received last night was that one of the individuals was ejected, and so throughout the course of today and the next coming days, we'll be determining if that was the case and if that person was in fact unrestrained," Langer said.

Four vehicles were involved in the crash. A passenger in the first car struck, and the driver of another car hit in the crash suffered minor injuries. The driver of the fourth vehicle was uninjured. Authorities have not identified the person killed in the accident.