Three separate car-pedestrian crashes have resulted in three deaths.
On Thursday, a woman in her 70s was killed after a hit-and-run in White Bear Township. Shortly before 4:30 p.m., the woman was hit in the road at White Bear Parkway and Birch Lake Boulevard North.
Investigators say 46-year-old Christopher Olson fled the scene after he hit the woman in a crosswalk and turned himself in to police about 20 minutes later where he registered a blood-alcohol level of .154 during a preliminary breath test, well over the legal limit.
Olson's charged with three counts of criminal vehicular homicide. Police say he admitted to drinking four "shooter" bottles of Vodka before the crash. A loaded hand gun was found inside his vehicle as well. Police said he does have a permit to carry.
Then Friday, two more people are dead following separate crashes involving pedestrians.
A 21-year-old man was killed when he was hit just before 7:30 a.m. by a bus north of the Twin Cities. Police say he was on a bike and that the bus hit him as it turned at the intersection of Ambassador and St. Francis Boulevard in St. Francis.
There weren't any students on the bus at the time. The man was reportedly on a bike and declared dead at the scene.
Also, at approximately 6:00 a.m. a pedestrian was struck and killed by a vehicle on Highway 169 near Shakopee. Currently, there is no information on that victim.
The Minnesota State Patrol is investigating the crash.
Distracted Driving Month
This all comes as law enforcement agencies statewide are gearing up for an extra distracted driving enforcement campaign.
The campaign starts next Tuesday with agencies using special vehicles designed to give police a clear view of what drivers are doing behind the wheel.
Minnesota State Patrol Colonel Christina Bogojevic says distracted driving is a statewide problem.
"I don't think it matters where you're from," says Bogojevic. "All of us can recall a fatal crash that has involved a distracted driver, so it doesn't matter if you're in the metro or if you're in Greater Minnesota. Risk-taking behind the wheel is dangerous, and it has the opportunity to take lives. And so again, it doesn't matter if you're in the metro or if you're in Greater Minnesota, we all need to take this seriously."
There's been a 4% increase in distracted driving citations issued already this year. Preliminary data shows distracted driving killed 29 people last year in Minnesota.