Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis hit and run survivor shares message of resilience
A hit-and-run survivor in Bloomington is back on his feet more than two years after he was almost paralyzed.
On a frigid December day in 2022, Luke Zimmer saw a woman stuck in a snowbank along I-35W South near Johnson Street northeast in Minneapolis. He stopped to help tow her out.
“Just as I thought, ‘Okay there’s a good spot, I’ve moved enough snow I can get a strap around part of the wheel,’ and I had reached back to grab the tow strap, then everything went black,” said Zimmer. “I didn’t hear anything.”
State Patrol identified the vehicle that hit him as a Toyota Sienna van. The driver took off from the scene.
“The next thing I know, I’m lying upside down in a snowbank,” said Zimmer, who described not being able to feel his legs. “I couldn’t get up, and I couldn’t make sense of the situation. I literally had to lie there in the snow until someone could help, and that was the first time I ever remember feeling that helpless.”
The woman he stopped to help flagged down others who were driving by, including an off-duty paramedic who told him to lie still.
A GoFundMe page that was created for the family after the crash described bystanders covering Zimmer with a sleeping bag, putting hand warmers around him and talking to him as they waited for an ambulance in sub-zero wind chills.
Someone also placed a bright hat on his head.
“I wear it almost every winter just as a reminder of the kindness of strangers,” said Zimmer.
He underwent an eight-hour surgery to repair a shattered vertebra. Extensive physical therapy followed and by the time he left the hospital three weeks later, he could walk again.
“We are just so thankful for how far we have come because we didn’t know,” said Michelle Zimmer, his wife. “I was preparing myself for him to be permanently paralyzed.”
Walking around their backyard, the Zimmers showed us their flock of chickens and ducks. They’ve started a business called Bloomington Farm and Feed, which delivers Minnesota-sourced products to customers’ doorsteps.
“It helps lower the carbon footprint, it helps improve the quality of eggs people are providing for their families and also having that local Minnesota farmer support,” said Zimmer.
The idea developed during Zimmer’s recovery, when they couldn’t travel the distance to pick up the high-quality feed they typically used. Michelle Zimmer explained that part of the GoFundMe donations helped them get the business started.
Meanwhile, State Patrol told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS there’s no update in the case, which means the driver who hit Zimmer is still out there.
“I actually don’t blame him, I don’t,” said Zimmer. “It was an accident, and I feel bad that he was in such a place in his life that he couldn’t stay because it’s going to be with him for the rest of his life, not knowing what happened.”
Zimmer said if the driver proactively game to him and apologized, he would forgive them.
The scene of the crash at 26th Avenue North and Emerson Avenue North in Minneapolis. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A Minneapolis woman was sentenced for her role in a deadly crash that killed two women and injured two other people in December 2024.
READ MORE: Minneapolis woman charged in fatal high-speed crash faces additional charges
Woman sentenced in fatal Minneapolis crash
Big picture view:
Prosecutors say Teniki Steward drove a Buick Enclave into a bus shelter and a Ford Explorer after speeding through a red light.
Both of the women in the Ford Explorer died in the crash. They were identified as 53-year-old Ester Jean Fulks and 57-year-old Rose Elaine Reece.
During the crash, the Ford Explorer went off the road, injuring a 17-year-old boy who was waiting for a school bus.
The passenger in Steward’s vehicle also suffered injuries.
Minneapolis police said that Steward was also injured in the crash.
Steward pleaded guilty to multiple murder charges.
What they’re saying:
During the sentencing, the daughter of one of the victims had a statement read on her behalf:
“There’s nothing that can truly prepare you for the moment your entire world is taken from you. Losing my mom has left a pain in my heart that words will never be able to explain.”
What’s next:
Minnesota law requires that Steward serves at least two-thirds of her sentence, a bit under eight-and-a-half years, in prison.
Fatal Emerson and 26th crash
The backstory:
According to the criminal complaint, through surveillance videos from the scene of the crash and witnesses, investigators learned that Steward, driving the Buick Enclave, had been driving at a high rate of speed northbound on Emerson Avenue North.
Before the fatal crash, Steward sped through the intersection of Emerson Avenue North and Broadway Avenue North, running a red light and nearly causing a crash, the charges said.
Steward then continued to speed northbound down Emerson Avenue North, and ran another red light at 26th Avenue North, hitting the Ford Explorer, which was traveling eastbound, according to the complaint.
The Ford Explorer had been at the intersection of Emerson and 26th on a green light.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty shared the following statement:
“This was an egregious act that took Rose and Esther’s lives and injured a child waiting to go to school at a bus stop. Ms. Steward was driving at extremely dangerous speeds on city streets and narrowly avoided multiple collisions before the incident occurred. Third-degree murder charges are appropriate to hold her accountable and protect our community.”
The Source: This story uses information gathered from an Olmsted County court appearance and previous FOX 9 reporting.
A motorcyclist is dead after an early morning crash in Minneapolis Friday morning.
The Minnesota State Patrol said that at 1:20 a.m., a Suzuki Motorcycle going north on I-35W at Johnson Street hit the left side of the median guard rail.
The motorcycle continued north for about another quarter mile before coming to a rest on the right-hand side.
State Patrol said the rider came to rest on the left shoulder. He was later identified as 21-year-old Andrew James Neuberger.
ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – The Rochester Spartans boys volleyball team played its second game on consecutive nights. The Spartans beat Minneapolis Camden 3-0.
Rochester’s next game will be Tuesday, April 21, at St. Anthony Village at 7:00 p.m.
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