The driver of a van carrying schoolchildren home failed to yield when she collided with a semitrailer truck at a rural intersection in western Minnesota, authorities said Tuesday.
The crash injured the driver of the Hancock School District van and all seven children aboard, three of whom required hospitalization in the Twin Cities. It occurred shortly before 4 p.m. Monday in Swift County at County Roads 20 and 63 near Benson, the Sheriff's Office said.
The 10-passenger van was equipped with seat belts, but no students were wearing them as required by law, Sheriff John Holtz said Tuesday. Up to four of the students were thrown from the wreckage, Holtz said.
The van's driver was wearing her seat belt, he said.
Four children from the same family are among the injured. Two were taken by air ambulance to Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) for treatment of serious injuries, the Sheriff's Office added.
Savannah Schlief, 14, was in critical condition as of Tuesday afternoon at HCMC, a hospital spokeswoman said. Sister Harleigh Schlief, 16, was in serious condition.
Two other Schlief children, 12-year-old Natasha and 11-year-old Blade, were in stable condition.
Gaige Sanderson, 16, has been upgraded from critical condition to satisfactory, the HCMC spokeswoman said. Korah Schroeder, 10, was in stable condition, and Braydn Sanderson, 15, was treated for his injuries and released. The Sandersons are brothers.
