Three people killed in crash in western Minnesota

Three people died in a crash between a semi and an SUV on Thursday evening at an intersection in western Minnesota.

The State Patrol said it happened just before 6 p.m. on State Highway 40 at Kandiyohi County Road 7, a few miles west of Willmar.

A 2016 Lexus SUV traveling north on the county road collided with a semi traveling east on the highway.

The driver of the SUV, 41-year-old Justin Ecker, and two of the three passengers — 39-year-old Jonathan Ecker and 64-year-old Carol Ecker — died at the scene. All were from Missouri.

The third passenger, 35-year-old Jennifer McGinness, also from Missouri, suffered life-threatening injuries and was transported to St. Cloud Hospital.

The driver of the semi, 57-year-old Ralph Enderle of Raymond, Minn., suffered what the Patrol said were non-life-threatening injuries.

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