Patrol: Wrong-Way Driver Causes Crash In Mpls. That Kills 2 Teens
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minnesota State Patrol is investigating after a wrong-way fatal crash on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis resulted in the deaths of two teenagers.
According to the state patrol, the incident occurred at around 1:34 a.m. on eastbound I-94, just east of Lowry Avenue.
A preliminary investigation suggests a 2011 BMW was traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of the interstate when it collided head-on with a 2009 Toyota Camry.
The driver and front seat passenger of the Camry were killed. They have been identified as 18-year-old Diana Rojas Martinez, the driver, and 19-year-old Chris Bunay, the passenger. Both are from Minneapolis.
The driver of the BMW, a 26-year-old Quoc Thanh Tran of Brooklyn Center, was seriously injured. Authorities believe the driver was impaired by alcohol and blood was drawn at North Memorial. He was not wearing a seatbelt.
The father of Rojas-Martinez said the two teens were friends from high school.
"They were both good kids who did everything they were supposed to," Cesareo Rojas-Castanon said.
Rojas-Castanon clutched a sports trophy of his daughter's on the front steps of their family home on Tuesday afternoon and emotionally described his special daughter.
"She was full of life," he said. "An amazing person."
Rojas-Martinez was a freshman at the University of Minnesota. Her father said she wanted to study physical therapy.
A look into Tran's driving record revealed some traffic citations, but none appeared to be related to alcohol.
