6 Dead In Wrong-Way Crash Near Eyota
EYOTA, Minn. (WCCO) -- Six people are dead, including an 11-year-old girl, in Olmsted County after an overnight crash on Interstate 90.
The crash happened at about 1:30 a.m. Friday in the westbound lane of I-90 between the Marion Rest Area and Highway 42-County Road 7 interchange, southwest of Eyota.
The Minnesota State Patrol said that six people had been killed in the two-vehicle crash. There were three people in each vehicle.
Investigators say that one of the two vehicles, a Ford Focus, was driving in the wrong direction.
On Friday afternoon, the state patrol identified the deceased victims.
In the 2005 Chrysler Sebring, the driver is identified as 26-year-old Christopher Peterson of Rochester, and passengers as 47-year-old Ester Peters of Rochester and 23-year-old Shayla Peterson of Paynesville.
A family friend tells WCCO they were on their way home from picking up Shayla in Wilmar.
In the 2009 Ford Focus, the driver is identified as 54-year-old Sheila Eagle, and passengers as 29-year-old Tamara Eagle and 11-year-old Nyobee Richardson -- all of Waukesha, Wisconsin.
The state patrol says Sheila and Tamara were not wearing seatbelts. It's unknown if the others were wearing seatbelts or not.
Several hours after the crash, rest stop worker Kevin Holz says the cars were still on the highway.
"'Bout all that was left is from the front seat to the back of the car. The whole front ends were gone -- motors and everything. It was just completely flat. They had them up on the trucks and everyone was still looking at them."
The State Patrol is still investigating.
"This is an on-going investigation, troopers will reconstruct the crash to determine the direction of travel and speed of each vehicle involved," the Minnesota State Patrol said.
The westbound lanes of Interstate 90 were closed for several hours as investigators processed the scene, but as of 7:30 a.m. had reopened to traffic.
This is the deadliest crash on Minnesota roads since 2010, when six people were also killed.
