Hospital worker, waiter killed in ‘horrific’ accident on Park Tavern patio

ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. (WCCO) — A hospital worker and a waiter were killed and three other people were injured in what the owner of the Park Tavern said was a “horrific” fatal accident on a patio Sunday evening.

Around 8 p.m., a man drove into the parking lot of a St. Louis Park restaurant and after attempting to park, drove his car onto the outside patio.

Two people were killed, city officials said. One of the victims was 30-year-old Park Tavern employee Kristina Folkerts, a mother of three, according to owner Phil Weber.

Methodist Hospital confirms that one of its employees died and three others were injured in the accident.

The driver, identified by city officials as a 56-year-old man from St. Louis Park, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide. He has not yet been formally charged.

Weber says Folkerts was a second-generation Park Tavern waitress. She says they are now raising money for her family.

“Kristina was just one of the family. Her mother worked for us, too. And her mother was pregnant with Kristina when she worked here, so it’s still just unbelievable,” Weber said. “Being here for so long, we’ve had quite a few people who’ve passed away, but not like this. It’s just horrifying. Nobody could believe it happened.”

A Methodist hospital spokesperson shared a statement with WCCO that reads, in part: “Our focus in the coming days will be supporting our colleagues and loved ones affected by this tragedy. The close relationships our colleagues have with each other are part of what makes Methodist a special place. Park Tavern has been a wonderful partner to our hospital for many years, and our thoughts are with them as well.”

Weber says he also sees Methodist as a partner.

“They were just amazing clients. The retirement parties, probably one a week, and what they had to go through during COVID, just awful,” Weber said.

Park Tavern is closed until further notice while staff process the loss and pick up the pieces. Weber assured WCCO that the restaurant will continue to be a beacon of St. Louis Park and will recover from this tragedy.

“We’ll get through this and we’ll keep doing what we’re doing. We have no other choice,” Weber said.

Methodist Hospital is a little more than a mile southeast of Park Tavern. Authorities did not release the name of the deceased employee but said he was a “beloved and respected colleague.”

On Monday, the restaurant was constantly filled with people wanting to leave flowers and pay their respects to the victims of this unimaginable tragedy. Among them were current employees of the Methodist Church, including Mary McGibbon.

“I feel so devastated that I woke up. They were wonderful people, my colleagues, and I just pray for their well-being and wish them peace,” McGibbon said.

She said her late co-worker “had a heart of gold.”

“He always smiled and loved his colleagues,” she said.

Jill Morin, who also works at Methodist, was picking flowers with her daughter in their home garden.

“I’ve been at Methodist for over 20 years and I was really shaken up. We heard the sirens last night and we didn’t know what was going on, so to hear that people had been killed in a very unexpected tragedy was really devastating,” Morin said. “We really are one big community and we lost a part of that last night.”

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