ID'd: Woman killed in 6-vehicle crash on Hwy. 169, where semi rear-ended 2 cars

Authorities on Thursday identified the woman killed in a six-vehicle pileup the previous night that closed part of a major highway in New Hope for many hours and injured several other people.

The State Patrol said that a semitrailer truck traveling in the left lane of northbound Hwy. 169 near Rockford Road struck a car from behind just before 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

That collision caused a ripple effect that killed driver Kathryn T. Burkey, 22, of Nowthen, the patrol said.

Burkey's car was pushed into a second car, which rear-ended a minivan. Meanwhile, the second car and the minivan came to a rest in the right lane.

The semi continued north in the left lane and rear-ended a third car, which then hit from behind a second minivan.

Hwy. 169 remained closed until 11 p.m. as emergency responders tended to the vehicles' occupants and investigators pieced together what happened.

The semi's driver, Jon R. Lindeman, 60, of North Branch, Minn., was not hurt, nor was one of the minivan drivers, the patrol said. Four of the five occupants in the other vehicles suffered noncritical injuries.