by Cliff Buchan
News Editor
Forest Lake TimesJust why a man from Maryland was walking in the middle of I-35 early Saturday morning is something police may never know.
But authorities do know that Michael J. Phipps, 37, of Kensington, MD, is dead. The Maryland man was struck and killed by a southbound car in the right lane of I-35 a half mile north of TH-97. The incident was reported at 1:58 a.m.
What authorities do know is that Phipps had come to Minnesota for the weekend and was partying with friends from Minneapolis in Forest Lake on Friday night. According to Lt. Matt Sokol of the East Metro Minnesota State Patrol, Phipps argued with friends at VFW Post 4210 in Forest Lake over where to spend the night.
ìWe assumed he walked there,î Sokol said of how Phipps may have reached the spot on I-35 where he was struck and killed. ìThere was no vehicle (parked) in the area.î
Phipps had no identification on his person.
According to police reports, several motorists reportedly called 9-1-1 after coming close to hitting a man walking in the roadway. Phipps died when he was hit by a southbound vehicle driven by Jimmie Hampton, 59, of St. Paul.
Phipps was not identified until later in the day on Saturday when his friends filed a missing personís report.
The friends told police Phipps was last seen at the VFW where there was an argument over the group staying at a motel in Forest Lake on Friday, night, Sokol said.
Sokol said alcohol was likely a factor in the manís death. Officials are awaiting results of a blood-alcohol test on Phipps.
According to a spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety the crash took place in Forest Lake and Washington County.
The State Patrol was assisted at the scene by officers from the Forest Lake Police Department and county deputies from the Washington and Anoka sheriffís departments.
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