Troopers say 18-year-old driver was drinking before fatal crash in Kandiyohi County
LAKE ANDREW TOWNSHIP, Minn. -- A teenager is in jail after authorities say he was driving under the influence early Sunday morning before a head-on crash that killed the other driver.
The Minnesota State Patrol says the crash happened around 2:20 a.m. on Highway 71 in Lake Andrew Township, roughly 12 miles north of Willmar. Investigators say a GMC Sierra and a Chevrolet Malibu were traveling opposite directions on the highway when they collided.
The crash killed the driver of the Malibu, identified as 52-year-old Dalia Zuniga of Wilmar. A passenger in her car, a 31-year-old Belgrade man, was hurt and treated at a local hospital. He is expected to survive.
The driver of the truck, an 18-year-old Willmar man, was also hurt in the crash and brought to a different hospital for treatment. Later he was booked into the Kandiyohi County Jail, pending charges of criminal vehicular homicide.
Troopers determined that the teenager had been drinking. WCCO is not naming him as he has yet to be formally charged.
