A trip to school ended in tragedy for a Maple Plain family Wednesday morning when their vehicle was struck by a teen driver who allegedly ran a stop sign. An 11-year-old girl died, West Hennepin Public Safety said.
11-year-old on her way to school killed in crash after teen driver allegedly runs stop sign in Independence
Five members of the girl’s family were hospitalized after a crash Wednesday morning.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
February 27, 2025 at 12:08PM
The crash happened about 7:55 a.m. at the intersection of County Roads 6 and 110 in Independence, said Sgt. John Howes.
“This is an extremely devastating incident for the family, our community and our first responders. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family as they endure this unimaginable loss,” the department said in a social media post.
According to witnesses, a 41-year-old mother was driving her four children to school and was southbound on County Road 110/83. She stopped at a four-way stop sign at the intersection with County Road 6. As she proceeded to cross County 6, a westbound pickup driven by an 18-year-old man slammed into the family’s SUV, authorities said.
Witnesses told police the pickup failed to obey the stop sign.
The mother, a 43-year-old father riding in the SUV and their children, two 15-year-old boys, a 4-year-old boy and the 11-year-old girl, were taken to North Memorial Health Hospital with “moderate to severe” injuries, the police department said.
The girl was later transferred to Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis, where she died, police said.
Police did not say if the pickup driver from St. Paul was hurt.
Names of the victims have not been released.
The intersection was closed for about three hours. The crash remains under investigation, police said.
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