Expand / Collapse search
☰

2 woman killed in Christmas Eve wreck in SW Minnesota

By FOX 9 Staff
Published  December 25, 2025 1:33pm CST
Minnesota
FOX 9

The Brief

    • Two women were killed in a Christmas Eve crash in southwest Minnesota.
    • The women were inside a minivan that collided with a semi in rural Pipestone County on Wednesday afternoon.

(FOX 9) - Two women are dead after a crash involving a minivan and a semi-truck in southwest Minnesota on Christmas Eve.

Deadly Pipestone County crash

What we know:

 Minnesota State Patrol responded around 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday to a crash along Highway 75 at 21st Street in Elmer Township in Pipestone County. The intersection is about eight miles east of the South Dakota border and 30 miles northeast of Sioux Falls. Google Maps images show a rural intersection surrounded by farmland with a power substation on the northwest corner. There are stop signs located on 21st Street.

According to an incident report from state patrol, the semi involved was headed northbound on Highway 75 when it collided with the minivan, which was traveling westbound on 21st Street.

Local perspective:

Troopers say both the driver of the minivan, 71-year-old Patricia Ann Struiksma, and a passenger, 69-year-old Donna Jean Vanthof, were killed in the crash.

The driver of the semi was not hurt.

What we don't know:

Further details about the circumstances leading up to the crash were not disclosed. However, troopers said alcohol was not believed to be a factor in the crash. Investigators also noted that road conditions were wet at the time of the collision.

Minnesota