Accident on County Road 81, Two Injured: No. 20 Post of 2012

Maple Grove Patch covered a lot of different stories, topics and events throughout 2012, but there were a few that stood out as the most interesting, important or possibly infamous to our readers. We’ll be sharing the top 20, most read posts of the year from Maple Grove Patch in days following up to the end of 2012.

The following is the No. 20 story of the year.

Accident on Elm Creek Boulevard Near County Road 81 Injures Two, Including Maple Grove Police Officer

Aug. 20, 2012 - An accident on Elm Creek Boulevard between the County Road 81 and Highway 610 ramps sent two to the hospital Aug. 20, 2012.

Maple Grove Police were called to the scene about 11:50 a.m. Monday morning, according to Captain Keith Terlinden who said the officer reported he was involved in an accident.

Both the police officer and driver of the other vehicle were transported to the hospital with nonlife threatening injuries, according to Terlinden.

“It is too early to determine the cause,” he said, stating the incident is under investigation with the assistance of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and Minnesota State Patrol.

Traffic on northbound Elm Creek Boulevard was shut down until early afternoon as law enforcement continued to investigate the incident. Another unrelated accident near the same location happened last Thursday in which two were injured.

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Update Dec. 17, 2012 – The accident brought questions and concern from the Maple Grove community about the safety of the intersection.

“This is the WORST intersection EVER!!!! I am so fearful for new drivers who think they can just go through the light if it is green not realizing that someone on 81 might be texting or not paying attention and blow the light,” Paige Muehlbauer wrote on the Maple Grove Patch Facebook page.

A snapshot look at the incidents from April 1 to Oct. 12, 2012 showed a total of 10 traffic accidents at the County Road 81 and Elm Creek Boulevard intersection, according to data from the Maple Grove Police Department. Of those, six included property damage and four personal injuries. The most occurring in July (three) and August (four).

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