Community mourns ‘heartbreaking’ death of 11-year-old girl after crash in Independence

An 11-year-old girl has died after spending two days in a hospital on life support following a violent crash Wednesday in Independence that also left members of her family hurt.

The family of Lilyana Loycano confirmed her death Friday at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis.

She was taken to Children’s after the wreck when a teenage driver allegedly disobeyed a stop sign and plowed into the family’s SUV at the intersection of County Roads 6 and 110.

“We find comfort in Lilyana’s legacy soon living on through organ donation,” the Loycano family said in a statement. “Lilyana was the heart of our family, with a giving and generous spirit that was felt by all around her.”

West Hennepin Public Safety authorities and officials from Westonka school district initially reported the girl had died Wednesday. Her injuries were so severe that the prospects of her recovering were grim.

Police say Lilyana was with her parents, Eric and Emmy, and three brothers in the family’s SUV and heading to school when they stopped at a four-way stop at County Roads 83/110 and 6. As they crossed County Road 6, an 18-year-old driver identified by police as Conner Iversen traveling west allegedly failed to stop and broadsided the SUV.

“It was horrible,” said Jon Howes, a sergeant with West Hennepin Public Safety who was the first responder to arrive on the scene. “It was like a bomb went off: car parts everywhere.”

The remaining family members — including Lilyana’s twin 15-year-old brothers Dominic and Jaxon and 4-year-old Merric — were treated a a hospital and have been released.

News about the horrific crash spread fast through the west metro, particularly through the Mound Westonka Hockey Association where the twin boys played hockey and Emmy was a team manager.

“Text strings fired up immediately,” said Hockey Association President CR Childers. “It is tough imagining going home one family member short.”

In the hours since the crash, Childers said families within the association have stepped up to organize meal trains for the Loycanos and are looking for other ways to support the family. On Wednesday night, teammates on Jaxon and Dominic’s Bantam hockey team taped tributes and messages of well wishes on their helmets as they played in a playoff game. The team won 4-3.

“The hockey community is unique in that it supports its members,” Childers said.

Lilyana was a fifth-grader at Grandview Middle School in Mound. Her passing was “heartbreaking,” said Kevin Borg, superintendent of Westonka Public Schools.

“The death of any young person is a loss that, in one way or another, affects us all of us,” he wrote in a letter to families obtained by the Minnesota Star Tribune. “In the many days ahead, we offer our thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences to the Loycano family.”

He said the district’s crisis-support team would be at Grandview Middle School to help students and staff process the sad news. Counselors will also be available at the district’s other schools, too, he said.

Several people gathered for a prayer vigil Wednesday night at the family’s church, Good Shepherd Lutheran, in Spring Park.

“Our family would like to thank the community for its thoughts and well wishes, and request privacy at this difficult time,” the Loycanos said in a statement.

Authorities on Friday were still trying to piece together what led to the crash and why Iversen allegedly didn’t stop at the four-way stop. A State Patrol team is conducting a reconstruction, Howes said.

“It was a preventable deal,” Howes said of the incident.

Iversen, who had a valid driver’s license, according to the Department of Public Safety, was convicted of a misdemeanor for abandoning a vehicle that became inoperable after striking a curb in December in Shorewood. He also was cited and convicted for driving on the shoulder of Hwy. 100 in Edina in September, court records show.

Additionally, Iversen was charged with fleeing police in a motor vehicle in December. He is due back in court on March 7, court records show.

On Friday, Iversen was booked into the Hennepin County jail on probable cause burglary and second-degree assault following an arrest by Golden Valley police, jail records show.

There have been 11 crashes between 2015 and 2024 at the intersection of County Road 6 and County Road 110 in the city of Independence, according to Hennepin County officials.