After the accident, a memorial is erected in front of the Park Tavern
The Park Tavern in St. Louis Park is closed until further notice after a fatal accident on its patio left two people dead and three others injured on Sunday evening.
St. Louis Park, Minnesota (Fox 9) – Two people were killed and several injured when a driver slammed into the patio of the Park Tavern in St. Louis Park on Sunday night. Here’s how you can help the families.
What happened
St. Louis Park Police and Fire Departments responded to the incident along Louisiana Avenue South shortly after 8 p.m. on Sunday, September 1.
Surveillance footage shows the male driver entering the Park Tavern parking lot and attempting to park before driving into the patio area. He was arrested at the scene on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter.
Two people were killed and four others were injured in the incident. A memorial to the victims was erected in the popular restaurant, bar and bowling alley.
At this time, it is unclear why the driver drove into the patio area – and whether or not it was an accident. The investigation into the accident is ongoing. The Minnesota State Patrol is conducting an accident reconstruction.
The Park Tavern is closed until further notice.
Who are the victims?
A memorial at the Park Tavern in St. Louis Park. (FOX 9)
Kristina Folkerts, a waitress at the Park Tavern, and Gabe Harvey, an employee at nearby Methodist Hospital, were killed in the crash, according to fundraisers for their families. Four other people – all Methodist Hospital employees – were injured in the crash, the hospital told FOX 9.
The group of nurses at Methodist Hospital was celebrating the last shift of a departing colleague on the patio when tragedy struck.
Kristina Folkerts
Remembering the victims of the Park Tavern crash
Kristina Folkerts, one of the victims of the fatal accident at the Park Tavern in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, had a deep lifelong connection to the Park Tavern, where she worked as a waitress and had previously reported on FOX 9.
Employees and guests of the Park Tavern fondly remember Folkerts.
In September 2023, FOX 9 told the story of Folkerts, who had become a waitress at the Park Tavern, the same place where her mother worked. Folkerts grew up at the tavern and often spent her childhood days there with her mother, Lauralee, who was a beloved waitress at the Park Tavern for decades before she died of ovarian cancer in 2008.
After Lauralee’s death, Folkerts initially found it difficult to return to the place that held so many memories of her mother. But after becoming a mother herself, Folkerts decided to return to the Park Tavern for a job.
Folkerts had three little daughters.
Park Tavern has set up a GoFundMe campaign to benefit Folkerts’ family.
Gabe Harvey
After the accident, a memorial is erected in front of the Park Tavern
The Park Tavern in St. Louis Park is closed until further notice after a fatal accident on its patio left two people dead and three others injured on Sunday evening.
Harvey was the other person killed in the Park Tavern patio accident on Sunday, according to a GoFundMe campaign set up to benefit his partner.
While studying nursing, he worked as a health unit coordinator in the intensive care unit at Methodist Hospital, the fundraiser said.
“He has worked his way up to being an intensive care nurse and is one of the best at it. He is a great, kind person who is great with patients and their families,” said Dr. Thomas Stark of Methodist Hospital.
The GoFundMe page said: “There wasn’t a soul that Gabe met that he didn’t make an impression on. He always had a smile and a kind word for everyone.”
Among the injured were four other nurses from Methodist Hospital.
“These are wonderful people, my colleagues, and I just pray for their well-being and wish them peace,” said Mary McGibbon, a Methodist worker.
