A dump-truck driver involved in a fatal crash in Minnetonka and a witness to the crash are giving conflicting accounts about the collision, police said Monday.
The collision Thursday killed Darwin L. Schmitt, 68, of Minnetonka, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office.
The crash occurred about 10:40 a.m. at Shady Oak Road and K-Tel Drive just east of Shady Oak Lake, police said.
Schmitt was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency responders.
The driver of the privately operated dump truck, Shawn L. Teague, 52, of Rosemount, was not hurt.
Teague told police that he was heading north on Shady Oak and had the green light as he entered the T-intersection. He said he braked but could not avoid hitting Schmitt's car broadside.
Teague told police he was not speeding or distracted at the time of the crash.
A witness said he was on westbound K-Tel behind Schmitt's car, which was first in line waiting to turn left onto Shady Oak.
He told officers that Schmitt "had just gotten a fresh green light, and when the first vehicle entered the intersection, the dump truck crashed into it," a police report said.
Schmitt was heading home from a coffee shop in Hopkins at the time of the wreck, according to his obituary.
He was known for building birdhouses, which were sold in various garden shops around the Twin Cities, the obituary noted.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
