2 More Fatal Crashes Reported-Minnesota Holiday Death Toll at 6

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Undated (KROC-AM News) - The Minnesota State Patrol has reported two more fatal traffic crashes, raising the number of traffic fatalities in the state over the busy Labor Day travel period to at least six.

The State Patrol says one person was killed and two others, including a young child, were severely injured in a collision involving a pickup and a small car in Itasca County Sunday evening. The victim was the driver of the small car, identified as 35-year-old Matthew Reigel of Bigfork. His two passengers were transported to a hospital in Duluth with life-threatening injuries. They were identified as 32-year-old Amber Mari Johnston of Deer River and 7-year-old Mekayla Bixby of Deer River.

The crash occurred just before 8 PM at an intersection along Highway 169 in Taconite, which is about 10 miles northeast of Grand Rapids. The State Patrol says Reigel was attempting to turn onto Highway 169 when his small car collided with a pickup pulling a fifth-wheel camper traveling south on Highway 169. The driver of the pickup, 28-year-old Benjamin Ladoux of Pengilly, was not injured.

The most recent fatal crash was reported just before 6:40 Monday morning in Carver County. It was a single-vehicle crash and occurred along Highway 212 about 5 miles west of Chaska. The State Patrol says 33-year-old Daniel Soriano of New Germany was alone in a van that rolled into the center median of the highway. He was not wearing a seatbelt and was partially ejected during the crash.

The Wright County Sheriff's Office is reporting what appears to have been a fatal hit and run. A news release says deputies responded to the city of Saint Michael just before 11 PM on Friday after an unresponsive adult man was found lying in the road. The man was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office. The Sheriff's Office believes he was fatally injured when he was struck by a vehicle. His name has not been released.

The other traffic fatalities occurred Friday evening and Saturday. Two of the deadly incidents occurred in Dakota County, and another was in northwestern Minnesota, where the Becker County Sheriff’s Office reported that a motorcyclist was killed while speeding away from a deputy.