1 Dead, 1 Seriously Injured After Car Hits Tree In St. Paul

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Police in St. Paul say they are investigating after a car slammed into a tree early Sunday morning, killing the driver and seriously injuring his passenger.

The St. Paul Police Department says the crash happened just before 1 a.m. on the 700 block of Cherokee Heights Boulevard, near Cherokee Regional Park.

Emergency crews pronounced the car's driver, 23-year-old Samuel Dzik Gottfredsen, of St. Paul, dead at the scene.

His passenger, 21-year-old Cole Nicholas Lucken, also of St. Paul, was brought to Regions Hospital with serious injuries.

Police say they are trying to determine what led to the crash, including how fast the car was traveling when it hit the tree and if impairment was a factor.

The investigation remains on-going.