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GILBERT, Minn. — A four-vehicle crash in northeast Minnesota left two people dead and one in serious condition Thursday afternoon, Nov. 11.
According to the Minnesota State Patrol, a Toyota Corolla with four people was headed west on Minnesota Highway 135 in Gilbert, Minnesota, when the driver of the car lost control near Indiana Avenue West around 3:55 p.m. Thursday. The Corolla crossed the center line and hit a Toyota Yaris, driven by Scott John Pershern, 64, of Gilbert, traveling east on Highway 135.
According to police, the Corolla was then T-boned by an eastbound Chevrolet Malibu on Highway 135 driven by Thomas David Sturgis, 51, of Biwabik. The Malibu was then rear-ended by a Volkswagen Passat driven by Ryan Mark Tuuri, 29, of Biwabik.
Two people in the Corolla died from injuries in the crash: the driver of the Corolla, a 32-year-old Aurora woman, and an 11-year-old Aurora boy, who was a passenger. Their names are being withheld pending family notification.
The other two passengers in the Corolla, Madi Lynn Smith, 10, and Dayton James Edward, 6, both of Aurora, were taken to area hospitals.
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Edward was transported to Essentia Health-Virginia with non-life-threatening injuries and Smith was transported to Essentia Health-St. Mary's in Duluth with life-threatening injuries.
The conditions of Edward and Smith were unknown as of Friday morning.
Pershern and Tuuri were not injured in the crash, according to the State Patrol. Sturgis was transported to Essentia Health-Virginia with non-life-threatening injuries.
The roads at the time of the crash were snow- and ice-covered as parts of the Northland were hit with its first snowstorm of the season.
