The man killed in a vehicle crash Wednesday in Wayzata was identified Friday as a former Minnesota legislator.
Gordon Owen Voss, 79, was fatally injured in a two-vehicle crash just after 3:45 p.m. Wednesday in the 1100 block of Wayzata Boulevard E., in front of the Colonial Square shopping center, according to Wayzata police.
Voss died at the scene. The Hennepin County medical examiner's office said Friday that he died from "multiple blunt force injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident."
The Duluth native earned two degrees from the University of Minnesota, including a B.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. He served in the Minnesota House from 1973 to 1988, representing Anoka and Ramsey counties. He resigned in 1989 after he was appointed to chief administrator of the Minnesota Metropolitan Waste Control Commission, where he worked for five years, according to the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.
Voss also served as the assistant DFL caucus leader in 1979.
A 1988 Star Tribune profile during his time as a House Tax Committee Chairman describe Voss as an "imposing character, physically and personally."
"He's 6 feet, 3 inches tall, imperious at times and an effective debater whose bluntness sometimes leaves adversaries angry," the article said.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 6, at Peace Lutheran Church in Coon Rapids. Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 5, at Gearty-Delmore Funeral Chapel in Plymouth, with visitation continuing one hour before the funeral at the church.
Karen Zamora • 612-673-4647
Twitter: @KarenAnelZamora
