Head-on crash kills 2 drivers, injures 2 children in northern Minnesota

PARK RAPIDS, Minn. (FOX 9) - A head-on crash involving suspected alcohol use left two drivers dead, and two children injured Sunday night in Park Rapids, authorities said.

Fatal head-on crash

The backstory:

The crash occurred around 8:15 p.m. Sunday on Highway 71 near Albert Avenue South. A 45-year-old man driving a pickup truck crossed the center line and collided head-on with an SUV driver in the southbound lane, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

The pickup driver, a Park Rapids man, was pronounced dead at the scene. A 5-year-old boy in the pickup suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a hospital.  

The driver of the SUV, a 39-year-old Park Rapids woman, also died as a result of the crash. A 13-year-old girl in the SUV was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. 

Everyone involved was wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash and the vehicle airbags deployed. Alcohol use by the pickup driver is suspected to be a factor in the crash, the State Patrol said.

By the numbers:

At least 60 people have died in traffic-related incidents on Minnesota roads this year, according to the Department of Public Safety.