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Neil Stoeckel, 58, was riding with a 15-year-old Chisago Lakes High School student when a Chevrolet Blazer that appeared to have run a red light slammed into their vehicle’s passenger side door at state Highway 8 and Pioneer Road in Chisago County, the State Patrol said.
According to the patrol, Stoeckel died of internal injuries about three hours later at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale.
Preliminary reports indicate the student had the green light and had pulled into the intersection when his vehicle was struck.
“There was nothing to indicate that the road was a factor in the accident,” said Lt. Bruce Brynell of the State Patrol.
Neither the teen nor the 61-year-old driver of the SUV suffered serious injuries.
Stoeckel was a driver’s education instructor for the Chisago Lakes School District’s Community Education department. He also taught industrial arts for 33 years at St. Francis Middle School and had served on the district’s safety committee, said Jay Reker, director of Human Resources for St. Francis Schools.
