At Least 5 Die In Crashes On Icy Minnesota Roads

MINNEAPOLIS (AP/WCCO) — At least five people died in crashes on icy highways as 1 to 2 inches of snow fell across much of southern Minnesota this weekend.

The State Patrol said a three-car crash killed one person around 9:15 a.m. Sunday on an icy stretch of Interstate 94 at the Crow River Bridge near Rogers.

All three cars were eastbound when a Toyota Corolla lost control and spun out, causing a Buick LaCrosse to strike a Pontiac G6. The Pontiac then left the road and struck a piece of construction equipment on the right side of the road, the patrol said.

The driver of the Pontiac was killed. The victim's name and hometown were not immediately released. The other two drivers suffered no apparent injuries.

On Saturday, Angelica Salas, 29, of Lester Prairie, and Jorge Salas, 6, whose hometown wasn't listed, died in a crash just before 2 p.m. on U.S. Highway 212 in Carver County. They were passengers in a car that spun sideways and was broadsided by an oncoming pickup truck. The driver and a 4-year-old boy were seriously injured. The pickup driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

The patrol said Patrick Thomes, 47, of Clearwater, died in a crash around 3 p.m. Saturday on I-94 in Stearns County. His pickup left the road and rolled, coming to rest in the center median. He died later at St. Cloud Hospital.

And Terry Wiederich, 49, of Gary, South Dakota, was killed about 3:15 p.m. Saturday on U.S. Highway 71 near Willmar when his pickup lost control, left the road and rolled before coming to rest in the median. A passenger was not injured.

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