State Patrol is looking for the driver of a white semi after pedestrian's death
Officials are looking for the public's help finding the driver of a semi-truck who may not have realized they hit a pedestrian on Wednesday morning.
According to the Minnesota State Patrol's report, a 53-year-old man from Avon was walking from a parked car on County Road 9 when he "allegedly" jumped from the overpass onto Interstate 94 in Avon around 8 a.m.
"We do believe it was a suicide, but we still need to speak to the truck driver and determine what they saw," Lt. Tiffani Nielson told GoMN.
Witnesses said a white semi was traveling in the right eastbound lane of I-94 and fatally struck the man, the State Patrol says, noting the truck may have front-end damage.
Anyone with information about the white semi or the driver is asked to call the State Patrol's St. Cloud district at 651-582-1292.
Suicide in Minnesota
The annual rate of suicide has been trending upward both in Minnesota and nationally, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
In 2015, there were 726 suicide deaths in Minnesota, the health department's most recent data shows. That's a 6 percent increase from the 686 Minnesotans who died by suicide in 2014.
That increase was driven by the number of men who took their own life, with the health department noting half of the increase in suicides happened among white men ages 25-34.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
