25-year-old identified as driver in Lake Street I-35W bus station crash

A 25-year-old was identified Friday as the man who died in a fiery car crash on Interstate 35W Saturday.

Sean Patrick McClernon, of White Bear Lake, suffered multiple blunt force injuries after his car crashed into a Metro Transit bus station on I-35W near Lake Street at 7:41 p.m., according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office, the Minnesota State Patrol and Minneapolis Police. He died instantly.

The car was headed northbound in the Metro Transit lanes in the center of the highway, which are separated by a concrete barrier, away from general traffic, according to the State Patrol. It jumped onto the Lake Street bus station platform and caught fire. Minneapolis fire crews were able to put out the blaze and traffic resumed as normal by 8:30 p.m.

The Minneapolis Fire Department said the damage to the bus structure was mostly cosmetic. However, it is part of the new Downtown to the Crosstown project Orange Line bus rapid transit service that was set to open Monday. Its opening was delayed until Thursday.

There is an ongoing investigation being conducted by the State Patrol and Metro Transit Police.