Ben Van Handel dies after Dinkytown hit-and-run

CaringBridge

Ben Van Handel

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His is the second traffic death in the neighborhood within a week. The driver, who was going the wrong way on a one-way street, is still at large.

"It is with deep sadness that I need to tell you that Ben took his last breath and went to the Lord on Thursday, April 21st at 3:37 p.m.," his mother posted on Van Handel's CaringBridge website.

Police need help finding the person who took Van Handel's life. They're looking for a white Toyota Camry or Solera with front-end damage that they think jumped onto the sidewalk beside Fifth Street going 30 mph that night, knocking down the Appleton man and injuring two others, Sarah Bagley, 22, and Katelynn Hanson, 21. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.

Van Handel died the same day that another U of M student, Kimberly Hull of St. Paul, was killed when the bike she was riding collided with a truck at 15th Avenue and Fourth Street Southeast, near McDonald's.

Police said the 25-year-old woman and the truck were both heading south on 15th Avenue when the truck tried to turn west on Fourth and Hull kept going straight. The crash occurred at about 8 a.m.

Unlike the Van Handel case, the driver in Thursday's crash pulled his truck over and immediately helped police investigating the scene.

Related: Death in Dinkytown: Truck runs over bicyclist