A 23-year-old passenger was killed when the driver of a Jeep Grand Cherokee crossed into the oncoming lane on Highway 2 in St. Louis County and struck a power pole just before 4 a.m. on May 16, the Minnesota State Patrol said.
The driver was injured and hospitalized. Alcohol is suspected, the Patrol says.
Keyshawn Michael Beckom, of Duluth, was a passenger in the eastbound Jeep when the crash happened around 3:45 a.m. at milepost 236 on Highway 2 in Culver Township, the State Patrol said. Beckom was killed in the crash.
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The driver, Lee Arthur Green, 24, also of Duluth, was wearing a seat belt and suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Paramedics transported him to St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth and Beckom’s seat belt use is listed as unknown. The Jeep’s airbag deployed.
Green was driving the Jeep eastbound on Highway 2 when it crossed into the oncoming lane and gradually went into the north ditch, the State Patrol said. The Jeep struck a power pole, snapped it in half and came to rest with all four tires on the ground, facing westbound. The roadway was dry at the time.
Alcohol is suspected as a factor for Green, the State Patrol said.
St. Louis County, Fond du Lac Police, Culver Fire, Cloquet Ambulance, St. Louis Fire and Life Link assisted the State Patrol at the scene.
