Three killed, three seriously injured in central Minnesota crash
Three people died and three others were critically injured in a head-on crash early Sunday in central Minnesota. The State Patrol said the crash may have involved drunken driving.
Authorities said the crash happened just after 12:30 a.m. Sunday in Cass County along 24th Street Southwest, about 3 miles west of Pine River.
The Patrol said a westbound pickup truck collided with an eastbound car.
Three people in the car died from their injuries: the driver, 39-year-old Royal Noe of Hillman and two passengers from Brainerd, 50-year-old Heather Ceballos and 36-year-old Corey Peterson.
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A fourth person in the car — a 53-year-old man from Pine River — and both occupants of the pickup truck suffered life-threatening injuries.
The Patrol’s crash report said alcohol use by the driver of the truck, a 32-year-old man from Bayport, may have been a factor in the crash.
In a separate crash Sunday, 43-year-old Eric White of St. Cloud died when his motorcycle collided with a pickup truck at a rural intersection in Morrison County, northeast of Little Falls. The Patrol said the crash happened just before 4:30 p.m.
Minnesota traffic safety officials say the number of traffic fatalities in the state in 2024 continues to run far ahead of the pace seen in 2023.
More than 110 people have died in traffic crashes in Minnesota so far this year. That compares with fewer than 80 traffic fatalities at the same point last year.