Eleven lives lost in Memorial Day Weekend Highway Accidents
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.
Pedestrian Injured Badly By Car
The Anoka County Sheriff’s Office and State Patrol are investigating a Minnesota car-pedestrian accident that left a 62-year-old Mounds View man seriously injured.
WCCO-TV reported that the accident happened about 10:30 p.m. Saturday in Spring Lake Park. The man, James Miller, was walking with a companion on the side of a service road along the 1600 block of County Road 10. The collision occurred in front of Oak Crest Senior Community Center, the station reported.
Mr. Miller was struck by a vehicle driven by a 30-year-old man. WCCO-TV reported that the man initially was taken into custody but there was no evidence that he had been drinking.
The injured man was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition on Sunday. His companion on the walk, Grant Bergstrom, 61, of Minneapolis, suffered minor injuries.
If you or somone you know are looking for a Minnesota car accident lawyer, call Pritzker Olsen attorneys at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or write to us online for a free case consultation.
The firm’s lawyers have extensive experience in motor vehicle accident cases and have received numerous accolades, including selection by their peers as The Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers.
Minnesota Fatal Accidents Haven’t Slowed
If the current rate of motor vehicle fatalities in Minnesota holds, the state Department of Public Safety (DPS) is projecting 440 Minnesota road deaths for 2009.
If true, the results would be in line with the number of Minnesota traffic fatalities last year — 456.
In a press release this week, DPS said 104 people have died in Minnesota road accidents through May 4, including six pedestrians and three motorcyclists. In 2008, the state hit the 100-fatality milestone on April 23.
Cheri Marti, director of the DPS’ Office of Traffic Safety, noted that the 2009 tally would be lower if more people wore seat belts. She estimated that 700,000 Minnesotans do not wear seat belts.
Of eight traffic deaths statewide in April, for instance, five who died were not wearing seat belts, the DPS said.
“These fatal crashes involving unbelted motorists serve as a wake-up call,” Marti said in the press release. “Whatever your excuse is for not buckling up, these crashes demonstrate an excuse won’t help you when you are involved in a crash.”
Minnesota car accident lawyers at Pritzker Olsen have represented car accident victims and survivors for decades. Our attorneys are highly visible in the legal community as frequent speakers on car accident injuries, including traumatic brain injury.
If you or someone you love has been injured in a car crash, a Minnesota car accident lawyer at Pritzker Olsen can be readily reached by calling 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or by completing one of our free online case consultation forms.
Driver Who Caused Fatal Crash Was Drunk
The man who crashed a stolen car into another vehicle, killing a 48-year-old St. Paul woman Saturday night, was intoxicated and was seen speeding through a red light a moment before the crash.
Those are some of the details in a criminal complaint filed in Ramsey County District Court against Tito F. Campbell, 33, of Crystal. Campbell, who has a lengthy criminal record with more than one previous drunk driving citation, was tested with a blood-alcohol level of .16 percent after the fatal collision.
Killed in the crash was 48-year-old Shoua Vang, a church-going mother of six boys, who was an innocent passenger in a vehicle driven by her husband, Zong Xiong. The couple was less than a mile from their home when Campbell exited I-35E at Larpenteur Ave. and was seen running a red light at an estimated 60 mph, the Star Tribune newspaper reported. Zong Xiong was treated at Regions Hospital and released Sunday.
The Star Tribune said Campbell faces three charges: Fleeing police resulting in a death; first-degree drunken driving and fleeing police resulting in great bodily harm.
Under Minnesota Law, when someone dies in a drunk driver accident, the spouse and next of kin may have a claim under MN wrongful death statute. Minnesota car accident attorneys at PritzkerOlsen, P.A., have years of experience in wrongful death cases and are highly visible in the Minnesota legal community.
If you have been in a Minnesota fatal car accident and want to understand your legal rights against insurance companies, dram shops, vehicle manufacturers and others, call PritzkerOlsen at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or go online for a free case consultation.
In the St. Paul fatal accident, driver Tito Campbell had been reported by his ex-girlfriend as having just stolen her car. According to the newspaper, Roseville Police pursued him on Highway 36 at speeds of up to 90 mph, but reportedly stopped the pursuit because Campbell was driving dangerously.
