3 Students In Critical Condition Following Van, Semi Crash
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Six young people remain hospitalized, including three in critical condition, following a collision between a school van and a semi in western Minnesota.
Sadness grips the tiny Hancock school, where seven of its students were being driven home Monday afternoon in a 10-passenger school van.
People are rallying around the families of the crash victims. Six of the students injured are from two nearby Danvers families.
Sadness grips the tiny Hancock school where seven of its students were being driven home Monday afternoon in a 10-passenger school van.
Investigator say the van's driver, 68-year-old Judith Van Eps, failed to yield the right of way at this rural Swift County intersection.
The school van plowed into the side of a farm semi, traveling at 50 miles an hour.
The school van was equipped with seatbelts, but it is unclear if any of the students were wearing them. At least two victims were thrown from the van.
"It's just unimaginable to have that many young people involved in an accident," said Danvers resident Jennifer Commerford.
The students were on their way home to nearby Danvers, a small farming community about 12 miles south of the school.
"I couldn't imagine being in the hospital with how many kids," said Danvers resident Marie Wersinger.
Folks in Danvers are rallying around the kids families, but for now it's mostly prayers.
"Hope everything works out, turns out well for all of them involved," Commerford said.
Some hopeful news came late Tuesday afternoon, when two more students injured in the crash will be released from the hospital, including Van Eps.
Three of the students remain at Hennepin County Medical Center in critical condition.