Four-vehicle crash on Hwy. 5 in Carver County sends mother, two children to HCMC

A Carver County crash involving four vehicles sent three people to the hospital with serious injuries and shut down Hwy. 5 for a time Tuesday night, authorities said.

The crash involved 10 people, and two of the injured were a 7-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl from the same family, the State Patrol said. One of the other vehicles carried three teenagers, including the driver, according to the patrol.

The crash happened about 4:30 p.m. on Hwy. 5 near Orchard Road west of Waconia.

The injured children were in a car with their mother, 31-year-old Dena D. Braith of Hamburg, Minn. They were all taken to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

The Braiths' car was going west on Hwy. 5 when it rear-ended a minivan driven by 16-year-old Isaac Sickmann of Hutchinson, Minn., the State Patrol said. The minivan, which had three passengers, then rear-ended a third car.

The Braiths ended up in the eastbound lane of Hwy. 5 and were in a head-on collision with an eastbound car, according to the patrol. Two people in the eastbound car had injuries that were not life-threatening, the patrol said.

The Carver County Sheriff's Office also responded Tuesday night. The highway was dry at the time.