At least three people died Friday night and early Saturday in two crashes on Minnesota roads. The victims' identities have not been released.
Two people were killed Friday night south of Fergus Falls, in west-central Minnesota, when they were thrown from an SUV. About 9 p.m., crews responded to the single-vehicle crash on the 16000 block of 215th Avenue, according to the Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office. The SUV had apparently rolled several times and was found on its roof and off the road.
According to data released this month by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, rollover crashes across the state result in a high ejection rate for unbelted motorists. Statewide from 2009 to 2011, 81 percent of the unbelted motorists killed in rollover crashes had been ejected from their vehicles.
Of the motorists not injured or who suffered only minor injuries out of the nearly 15,000 rollover crashes in the same timeframe, 82 percent were buckled up.
Information about whether Friday's victims were wearing seat belts wasn't immediately available.
On Saturday afternoon, a multicar crash in McLeod County, west of the Twin Cities, claimed at least one life. The head-on crash was reported about noon on Hwy. 15 south of Brownton, according to the State Patrol.
The crash involved three cars, one pulling a boat trailer. Additional details about the crash weren't immediately available. The road was blocked Saturday afternoon as emergency crews worked the scene.
NICOLE NORFLEET
