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Crash Kills 2 Boys Near Family's Driveway

By James Schugel, WCCO-TV

WINTHROP, Minn. (WCCO) -- A Minnesota family is struggling after losing their two boys in a car crash.

Dillan Sommer and his older brother, Trevor, were with their dad in Winthrop, southwest of the Twin Cities.

Another car didn't see them and slammed into their vehicle on Highway 19 going 55 mph.

"The kids were just full of energy," said Susie Steele, a friend of the family.

They were like any other boys. They loved sports, and they liked school.

Trevor, 8, was the thinker, while Dillan, 6, was the do-er -- daring and unafraid, Steele said.

"I'm just doing whatever I can to get through this," she said at the family's home about three miles west of town.

The crash happened at the end of the family's driveway.

The boys' father, Nathan, had just picked them up from his parent's home.

They were sitting on the highway, ready to turn once cars coming the opposite direction had passed. A woman didn't see them and slammed into the back of the car, killing the boys.

There was fog at the time, but Minnesota State Patrol investigators report the road was dry.

Local paramedics transferred the boys to a New Ulm hospital, before they were transported to the Twin Cities for treatment.

They died Tuesday morning.

Neither boy, according to State Patrol investigators, was wearing a seat belt.

"It really hits home. This is where it really happened," said another family friend, Dan Fahning.

He couldn't miss the spot where the crash happened, coming to help care for the family's horses. The family will continue to drive by it, too.

"It just makes it that they have to deal with it every day they come home. That's their memory," Fahning said.

That memory is coupled with the good memories of their boys.

The youngsters, who played with Pokemon, collected baseball cards and wrestled, will be missed.

Trevor's parents plan to donate his organs.

A fund has been set up for the Sommer family. Donations can be made at:

Nathan and Mandy Sommer
c/o Midcounty Bank
120 E. 2nd Street
PO Box 424
Winthrop, MN 55396

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