The second rear-end crash in as many days on Hwy. 95 just west of North Branch, Minn., has left one person dead.
David Lavern Winberg, 56, of North Branch, was killed Wednesday when the Kia Soul he was riding in was hit from behind while it stopped or slowed down to make a left turn to go north on Hornsby Street NE., the State Patrol said.
The Kia's driver, Tracy Marie Hartmann, 47, of North Branch, was taken to Fairview Lakes Medical Center in Wyoming, Minn., with noncritical injuries. She was wearing a seat belt, the patrol said.
Madison Rae Amundson, the driver of the Dodge Caliber that struck the eastbound Kia, did not require medical attention. Amundson, 21, of Cambridge, was wearing a seat belt, the patrol said.
The impact caused the Kia to cross the highway and strike a third vehicle driven by 17-year-old Andrew James Van Eerden. He was wearing a seat belt and was not hurt in the crash, which was reported at 5:20 p.m., the patrol said.
On Tuesday, and not far away, a chain-reaction crash involving four vehicles led to the death of a motorcyclist identified as Larry Micheal Cooper, 58, of North Branch.
Authorities closed both directions of Hwy. 95 at 392nd Street for several hours after the crash, which occurred about 3:45 p.m. The three other drivers, Thomas Jason Crowson, 26, of Cambridge; James Mark Aufderhar, 62, of North Branch; and Robert Alan Lakeberg, 57, of Stanchfield, were not seriously hurt.
