Year in Review

Top 10 Stories of 2012: Hockey Coach, EHS Grad Both Killed in Car Accident

Fatal car crashes, robberies, sports scandals, big business developments. Eagan Patch looks back at the Top 10 stories of 2012.

Follow Eagan Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter | Blog for us Editor's Note: As the New Year approaches, Eagan Patch will review the Top 10 most significant stories of 2012, in terms of total pageviews and impact to the community. Disagree with our assessment, or have other stories you think should've made the Top 10? Please post your feedback or thoughts in the comment stream below. Eagan Police Chief Jim McDonald called the March 17 car accident that killed Eagan High School grad Ahsim Ahmed and local hockey coach Kelly Kristiansen unparalleled in its impact to the community. Both victims were well-known and well-regarded in the community, and mourners quickly erected small memorials along Diffley …

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Friends to Host Benefit for Family of Car Crash Victim

Kelly Kristiansen, 42, was killed March 17 in a two-car collision on Diffley Road in Eagan.

Follow Eagan Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter A dedicated family man, enthusiastic athlete, close friend. That's how Mark Waters remembers his brother-in-law, Kelly Kristiansen, who was killed on Diffley Road on March 17 in a two-car accident that also killed Eagan High School graduate Ahsim Ahmed. The crash, which left the community reeling, was likely the result of an undiagnosed medical condition that may have caused Ahmed to lose conscious in the moments before the crash, according to a police investigation. "[Kristiansen] was very, very outgoing, a bull in the china shop," said Waters. "This is a guy that walks into a place and is out there talking to the cashier, talking to some of the people…

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UPDATED: Undiagnosed Medical Condition May Have Been Factor in Fatal Diffley Crash, Police Say

The March 17 accident killed 18-year-old Ahsim Ahmed and 42-year-old Kelly Kristiansen, both of Eagan.

Eagan High School graduate Ahsim Ahmed may have been traveling at speeds in excess of 100 mph moments before a fatal accident that claimed his life and the life of Eagan resident and hockey coach Kelly Kristiansen, according to a recently completed police investigation. Expert analysis and eyewitness accounts point to Ahmed's speed and erratic driving as the causes of the fatal accident, which took place on Saturday, March 17, near the intersection of Diffley Road and Amberleaf Trail. Witnesses interviewed by police saw Ahmed's vehicle drive off the roadway, strike a traffic sign, cross the median and narrowly miss hitting another car before finally colliding head-on with the vehicle drove by Kristiansen. Kristiansen, who was driving …

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Community Remembers Eagan Car Crash Victims

Ahsim Ahmed Jr., 18, and Kelly Kristiansen, 42, were killed in a two-car collision on Saturday evening in Eagan.

Chris McDonald first learned of Eagan High School graduate Ahsim Ahmed Jr.'s death in a car accident on Saturday night, when he started receiving text messages from members of the EHS Debate Team. McDonald, the debate team coach, worked for three years with Ahmed, who was a member of the debate team from his sophomore year onward. McDonald remembers him as a quiet, upbeat student who usually said hello when he passed in the school hallways. "You never get used to anyone dying in that manner, but you know that it happens," McDonald said. "When it intersects that closely with your life, it reminds you that life is precious and unpredictable." Ahmed, 18, was one of two people killed in a two-car collision near the intersection of Diffley Road…

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