Teen Seriously Hurt In 4-Vehicle Crash In Blue Earth County
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 17-year-old boy is hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after being rear-ended by a distracted driver in southern Minnesota Friday night, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.
Authorities responded to a report of a four-vehicle crash at about 5:44 p.m. on Highway 60, north of 216th Street in Le Ray Township, which is just east of Mankato. An investigation showed a 2016 Dodge Journey, a 1993 Chevy pick-up truck and a 2010 Toyota Tundra were heading eastbound on Highway 60. A Sterling dump truck was heading westbound on Highway 60.
The Chevy was braking and had its left turn signal activated when the driver of the Dodge Journey rear-ended the Chevy. The crash report states the driver of the Dodge, a 51-year-old Northfield woman, was distracted before the crash.
The impact forced the pick-up truck into the westbound lane of Highway 60, where it was hit by the dump truck. The Toyota tried to avoid the dump truck by swerving into a ditch, but the dump truck crashed into the Toyota in the ditch.
The driver of the pick-up truck, a 17-year-old male from St. Clair, was taken to St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester with life-threatening injuries. The driver of the dump truck suffered non-life threatening injuries.
What led up to the crash is under investigation.
