Felony charges of criminal vehicular operation are pending against a 25-year-old Winona man whom the State Patrol says was drunk when the vehicle he was driving broadsided a van, killing four people and critically injuring two others.
The accident Saturday was the worst of eight Minnesota fatal accidents that took place over Memorial Day weekend.
The State Patrol identified the driver in the Olmsted County van crash as Christopher S. Frisch. The people who died in the crash were driver Terry Milholland, 45, of Beecher, Ill., and passengers Heidi Newell, 19, and Jarah Beers, 23, both of Rochester, and Raymond Milholland, age and hometown unknown. The Star Tribune reported that two others were hospitalized with critical injuries: 2-year-old Carter Newell of Rochester and Rita Seha, 43, also of Rochester.
The collision reportedly happened late Saturday at the intersection of state highways 63 and 30.
When someone dies in a Minnesota car wreck caused by the negligence of another, the spouse and next of kin can recover monetary damages under the state’s wrongful death law. And when someone dies in a drunk driver accident in Minnesota, the spouse and next of kin may have a claim for punitive damages.
Minnesota-based Pritzker Olsen Attorneys is a nationally recognized law firm that has the resources to perform its own accident investigations. When alcohol is involved in a crash, the firm researches dram shop claims against bars and other retailers who supplied alcohol to the drunken driver. Our lawyers know how to fight for fair compensation from all responsible parties, including money to cover a client’s pain and suffering.
Pritzker Olsen has recovered tens of millions of dollars for victims of motor vehicle accidents that cause serious injury and death, including Minnesota motorcycle accidents. The number of fatal motorcycle accidents in the state has been on the rise.
The Minnesota traffic deaths this weekend included two passenger on motorcycles. One motorcycle was struck by a car on Highway 371 in Cass County. The car was northbound when it braked to avoid hitting another vehicle ahead. Then, according to reports in the Star Tribune, the car swerved into the southbound lane and struck the motorcycle head-on. A couple from Oak Grove, Minnesota, was on the bike.
According to the State Patrol, 59-year-old Judy Hubers died from her injuries. John Hubers, 51, was taken to North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale. On Monday, Mr. Hubers remained hospitalized in critical condition.
Another six people were killed over the weekend in six separate accidents in Carver County, Fillmore County, Dakota County, Wright County, Olmsted County and Aitkin.
According to the Star Tribune, one of the six was motorcycle passenger Amber Frandup, 25, of Eagan. She died when the motorcycle she was riding on crashed into the back of a car on the Mendota Bridge in Dakota County.
To contact a Minnesota car accident lawyer or motorcycle accident lawyer at Pritzker Olsen, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or write to us online for a free case consultation.
Our professional lives are dedicated to upholding the constitutional rights of our clients including the right to trial by jury. We believe that wrongdoers and their insurance companies should be held accountable for the harms and losses they cause and the families of injury victims should be fairly compensated for the damages they suffer.
