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Published September 25 2009

Pine Point mom, 2 sons die in N.W. Minnesota car-truck collision

A 28-year-old woman and her two sons, ages 8 months and 3 years, died this morning after their Ford subcompact collided with a construction pickup truck hauling a flatbed gooseneck trailer that held a skid steer.

By: DL Online and Wire Reports,

WHITE EARTH, Minn. — A Pine Point, Minn., mother and her two sons died Friday after a horrific head-on collision near White Earth sent their vehicle skidding down an 80-foot embankment and into Net Lake.

Becker County officials said the 28-year-old mother, her 8-month-old son and 3-year-old son died from “catastrophic injuries.”

Becker County Sheriff Tim Gordon said the victims probably will not be identified until Monday, until relatives are notified.

Gordon told KFGO-AM radio of Fargo that alcohol doesn’t appear to be a factor in the crash.

Sheriff’s officials said the collision happened about 11 a.m. Friday about three miles east of White Earth on County Highway 34.

The woman and her sons died after their Ford subcompact collided with a construction pickup truck hauling a flatbed gooseneck trailer that held a skid steer.

The Ford collided with the oncoming pickup truck, sending both vehicles careening down a steep embankment into Net Lake. The car ended up in about 4½ feet of water. The occupants died in the crash, not by drowning, Gordon said.

The other driver, a 40-year-old Ogema man, was treated for minor injuries. The driver of the pickup truck, a rural Osage, Minn., man, suffered minor injuries and was treated and released.

It took about four hours to clear the scene, Gordon said. “It took a massive amount of equipment to clear this accident scene,” he said, including the Jaws of Life and the Becker County Sheriff’s Department Dive Team.

County Road 34 was closed in both directions for about five hours.

The White Earth Tribal Police department was first to arrive on the scene, so it’s the lead agency handling the crash and will write the accident report, sharing it with other agencies, Gordon said.

The State Patrol will reconstruct the crash. One vehicle was eastbound, and one was westbound, but it’s not clear which is which at this point, Gordon said.

The state’s commercial vehicle division will investigate the pickup truck involved.

Firefighters and ambulance crews from Detroit Lakes and White Earth assisted at the scene.

DL Online and the Herald are both owned by Forum Communications Co. This report includes material from The Associated Press.

Tags: becker county, northwest minnesota, highway deaths, highway accidents, white earth mn, net lake, breakingnews, minnesota