By Shawn Hogendorf, Correspondent
The State Patrol is investigating a crash involving an SUV that killed a 42-year-old Shakopee motorcyclist on Aug. 1 near the intersection of Vernon Avenue and CreditRiver Boulevard in Credit River Township.
Jay Todd Rubash, who worked as an assistant city engineer for the city of Lakeville, died on the scene after firefighters attempted to resuscitate him.
Prior Lake Fire Chief Doug Hartman said a firefighter who lives near the scene of the crash and an off-duty nurse who was driving past the area at the time were the firstpeople on the scene. When firefighters arrived, Rubash was unresponsive, Hartman said.
According to the crash report, Rubash collided with thepassenger side of an SUV driven by Bryan Todd Swagger, 37, of Savage. Swagger was not injured.
Swagger was heading north on Vernon Avenue, which has a stop sign. It appears Swagger stopped at the stop sign, but didn’t notice the motorcycle coming west onCredit River Boulevard before proceeding through the intersection, said Capt. Greg Muelken of the Scott County Sheriff’s Office.
Rubash was traveling west on Credit River Boulevard, which has the right of way and does not have a stop sign, when he struck the SUV. Rubash was wearing a helmet and full protective gear, Hartman said.
There is no indication Swagger was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Muelken said. Swagger has not been ticketed or cited for the crash.
The State Patrol is reconstructing the accident. When the investigation is complete, the report will be sent to the Scott County Attorney’s Office for review for any possible charges, Muelken said.
Intersection
This is the third fatal accident at the intersection of county roads 68 and 91 in the past nine years.
From 1998 through June of 2006, 20 crashes occurred at the intersection of county roads 91 and 68, according to Lezlie Vermillion, Scott County’s public works director. Ofthose 20 crashes, two were fatal, she said. From that same time period, 13 crashes occurred on the curve west of County Road 91. Two of those 13 crashes were also fatal.
The crash rate at that intersection is not abnormally high for the nine-year time period of data, Vermillion said. The sight distance at the intersection is adequate, she added.
According to the Minnesota Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, an agency that provides public agencies data to use as guidance to determine when to install appropriate traffic control, the intersection ofcounty roads 91 and 68 does not meet volume-, delay- or crash-rate thresholds for an all-way stop, Vermillion said.
In 2002, there were three crashes at the intersection, in 2003, there were four crashes, in 2004, there were three crashes including one fatality and in 2005, there were three crashes.
There is a plan in place to reconstruct the intersection,Vermillion said. Scott County applied for federal money to install a roundabout at the intersection and the Metropolitan Council has approved the funding, but it will not be available until 2012. The intersection will be made into a roundabout similar to the one at highways 13 and 2 in the south end of Scott County, she said.
With a roundabout, there won’t be right-angle crashes like this one, Vermillion said, noting when there is a rural condition with crashes, a roundabout seems to be a safer traffic-control method than signals or stop signs.
Vermillion said the public will be shown proposed designs forthe roundabout, changes that will be made to the intersection, and given an explanation as to why a roundabout was determined method to be used.
After the public input process, the intersection will go intothe design phase before completing the purchase of the right of way, she said.
“The proposed roundabout will reduce the injury crash rate, reduce the crash rate related to the curve west of County Road 91 and eliminate the need for an all-way stop that could possibly create more issues at the intersection,”Vermillion said.
Shawn Hogendorf can be reached at shogendorf@swpub.com [2]. Shannon Fiecke also contributedto this report.