Two motor vehicle crashes, including one rollover, sent multiple people to local hospitals on Saturday, July 7, as thousands of Fourth of July week vacationers made their way back to the Twin Cities metro from “lakes country.”
The first incident, which involved heavy traffic in Interstate 94 near Wright County Highway 19 (Labeaux Avenue), happened around 11:15 a.m. on Saturday.
According to the Minnesota State Patrol, a trio of vehicles were westbound on I-94 when a Chevrolet Monte Carlo struck a Jeep Compass from behind and pushed the Jeep into a 1997 Yamaha motorcycle. One person, 28-year-old Wade Edward Garland of Henning, was transported via Centra Care Ambulance to St. Cloud Hospital with a non-life-threatening injury.
The second accident occurred about four hours later, at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday. A 2003 Mercury Sable driven by Pero Petrovic, 53, Fargo, ND lost control in the Interstate 94 westbound lane, entered the median and rolled over, finally coming to rest in the eastbound lanes of I-94. It was hit – “lightly,” according to State Patrol reports – by an eastbound Chevy Malibu driven by Riley Simpson, 27, of St. Cloud.
Both Pero Petrovic and his passenger, Zorica Petrovic, were transported to North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale. Injuries sustained by the Fargo couple were not considered life-threatening.
Neither Simpson nor his passenger, 20-year-old Danielle Revering of St. Cloud, required medical attention.
The interstate was closed until nearly 4 p.m. on Saturday as State Patrol and other first responders – including Albertville Fire and Rescue – cleaned up the accident and tended to crash victims.