Mark Richardson has been identified as the Zimmerman Middle High School teacher who was killed in a fatal motorcycle accident on Friday, June 2, 2023. Mark was a longtime resident of Princeton, Minnesota. Mark succumbed to the injuries he sustained from the tragic accident. However, the cause of the incident has not been released to the public.
This is a developing story.
About Zimmerman Middle High School
Zimmerman High School is an above-average, public school located in ZIMMERMAN, MN. It has 713 students in grades 9-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 31 to 1. According to state test scores, 52% of students are at least proficient in math and 67% in reading. It is located in ISD 728 District Office.
Related Story; Two killed, girl critically injured in wrong-way crash on I-694 in Oakdale
Early on Thursday morning, a wrong-way collision in Oakdale shut down northbound Interstate 694 and claimed the lives of two people.
Just before 2:30 a.m., a Toyota Corolla can be seen heading south in the left-hand interstate lane from a Minnesota Department of Transportation traffic camera.
It passes several cars, including semi-trailers, before slamming into a Pontiac Vibe head-on. A Mercedes Benz Sprinter van is struck by the spinning Pontiac as it enters the right lane.
Alexander John Ripka, 32, of Rice, Minnesota, who was driving the Pontiac was ejected from it and was declared dead at the site. According to the Minnesota State Patrol, the wrong-way motorist, 28-year-old William Alexander Flores-Zamora, was extricated from the Corolla and later pronounced dead.
The driver of the Mercedes van suffered minor injuries and was brought to Regions Hospital for treatment, while the 3-year-old girl who was a passenger in the Pontiac was transported to Gillette Children’s Hospital with life-threatening wounds.
Ripka wasn’t buckled up when the accident happened. Under Flores-Zamora’s statement, the crash report indicates that it is “unknown” whether or not alcohol was a factor.
According to MnDOT, the portion of the northbound highway was restricted to traffic until 7:30 a.m.
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