NORTH BRANCH, Minn. — Multiple people, including three young children, were hospitalized following a head-on crash involving three vehicles in North Branch Thursday night.
According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, a 19-year-old driving a Dodge Grand Caravan struck a Mazda CX-5 as the Mazda attempted to make a left turn while traveling east on Highway 95 at 310th Avenue NE around 6:45 p.m.
The Mazda spun into the westbound traffic lanes where it was hit by a Toyota Camry, according to DPS. The Dodge ended up stopping in a ditch on the south side of Highway 95.
The 19-year-old woman was taken to Regions Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. None of the other passengers in the Dodge, two 15-year-olds, two 17-year-olds and another 19-year-old, were taken to hospitals for treatment after the crash.
The Mazda driver, a 28-year-old woman from North Branch, was also taken to Regions with non-life threatening injuries. Two children were inside the car during the crash: A 2-year-old that was taken to Regions for non-life threatening injuries and a child under the age of 1, who was transported to Children's Hospital for what DPS called life-threatening injuries.
Three passengers inside the Toyota Camry, a 71-year-old man and woman and a 4-year-old girl, were all taken to Cambridge Medical Center.
According to DPS, all 12 people involved in the crash were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the accident. North Branch Police said multiple agencies responded to the crash, including Minnesota State Patrol and LIFELINK.
In Ham Lake, another six 17-year-olds were injured in a crash Thursday night after their car crashed into a tree near the 16800 block of Xylite Street NE. Police said the car was traveling "at a high rate of speed" before the crash. Four of the teens were taken to a local hospital via ambulance. The other two were flown by Life Link III and North Memorial Health Air Care helicopters to nearby hospitals.
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