Community Mourning Columbia Heights Family Killed In Crash
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- We know now a family of four killed in an Aitkin County accident on Saturday was from Columbia Heights.
The four died in a crash on Highway 65 near McGrath around 3 o'clock Saturday. According to the Minnesota State Patrol, the family's car, a Mazda SUV, slid on the snow-packed roadway and into oncoming traffic.
A Chevy Suburban going north slammed into the family's car. The State Patrol said that three of the five people in the Suburban suffered serious injuries. All were from McGregor. We found the local family who lost their lives is leaving quite a legacy.
This Columbia Heights home sits near the end of its street, but it's the social center of the neighborhood.
"Always had people at their house and always inviting people to come to their house," Nelson Hyde said.
And the photos say it all. Relatively new to the neighborhood, the Moe family had established themselves as the party home, hosting barbecue after barbecue.
"Whenever there was a holiday you always knew you could go there and it would always be a good time," Hyde said.
Sunday morning, Nelson Hyde got some bad news about his dear friends. Their car slid in the snow while heading south from northern Minnesota, where they were visiting family.
Rae Anne lost her life, so did Chris, who'd just gotten his degree to be a medical assistant. Samantha, 14, and her younger brother passed away, too.
"It's just mind blowing to me to really be honest with you," Hyde said.
It wasn't just fun they were known for. They helped out one neighbor after her husband passed away, and another after a tree fell in their yard.
"We are just really going to be a mess without them," Hyde said.
Now sorrow fills the block that the Moe family filled with love.
"It's gonna be really different without them, it's gonna be hard," Hyde said.
The Moe's extended family says they want people to know how wonderful the Moe's were. They gathered together Sunday to make funeral arrangements.
There is a fund set up to help Chris' mom pay for the service.
