A driver was killed Sunday night in St. Paul when another driver sped through a red light and struck his vehicle, police said.

Preliminary information is that alcohol may have been a factor in the crash, said St. Paul Police Sgt. Toy Vixayvong, a department spokesman.

Police responded shortly after 7:30 p.m. Sunday to Arlington Avenue and Dale Street. A man driving a sedan west on Arlington ran a red light at Dale and hit a sport-utility vehicle that was heading south on Dale, Vixayvong said.

The SUV was pushed about 40 yards and St. Paul firefighters extricated the driver from the vehicle. Fire department medics transported the man to Regions Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The suspect was taken to Regions Hospital with apparent non-life-threatening injuries. Police obtained a search warrant to draw his blood for testing. Officers plan to take him into custody when he’s released from the hospital, Vixayvong said.

— Mara H. Gottfried

Weekend fire destroys 2 old TCAAP bunkers

Arson at two old bunkers at the former Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant in Arden Hills sent smoke billowing into the air over the weekend.

The underground storage bunkers were built out of creosote-coated heavy timbers, according to the Lake Johanna Fire Department. They were used for ammunition storage during World War II, but no longer held munitions or hazardous materials, said Fire Chief Tim Boehlke.

“Someone went through some real effort to light these fires and get them going,” Boehlke said of the Saturday fires.

The bunkers are south of County Road I and Fairview Avenue. The area is difficult to access and there aren’t fire hydrants. Fire engines and tankers, including from neighboring departments, had to bring in water. Firefighters stretched close to 2,000 feet of hose, Boehlke said.

Lake Johanna Fire made the decision to allow the fires to burn themselves out, while monitoring the situation. One of the bunker fires was “essentially out” by Sunday morning and the other has remnants that were still smoldering as of Monday, according to Boehlke.

Anyone with information about the arsons can call the fire department at 651-415-2100 or the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office at 651-266-7320.

— Mara H. Gottfried

Sunday apartment fire leaves occupant dead

Firefighters who responded to a blaze in Inver Grove Heights pulled a man from an apartment, but he died at the hospital.

The Inver Grove Heights and South Metro fire departments were called to the fire at the Lake Cove Village Apartments, off Babcock Trail, just after noon Sunday. Inside the apartment, crews found “zero visibility” and located the victim during a search, according to a news release.

The man was treated at the scene and taken by M Health Fairview EMS to a hospital, where he died.

Firefighters contained the fire to the single apartment and no one else was injured.

The fire did not appear to be intentionally set and the cause is under investigation, according to the Inver Grove Heights Fire Department.

— Mara H. Gottfried

2 found fatally shot, but police say no threat

Police found two people fatally shot in a Mounds View residence Sunday night.

“Investigators believe there is no danger to the public,” the department said in a statement. They didn’t immediately say if they’d arrested anyone.

Officers were called just before 8 p.m. Sunday to check a person’s wellbeing in the 5200 block of Greenwood Drive.

They could see a person inside the residence “lying on the floor with signs of trauma” and forced the door open to check on the people inside, the statement said. That person and another person who was deceased inside both sustained gunshot wounds.

A handgun was found at the scene.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was called to assist with processing the crime scene. The investigation is ongoing.

— Mara H. Gottfried