A Minneapolis woman who was eight months pregnant lost her baby when a pickup truck driving the wrong way on a highway ramp slammed into her family's van late Saturday night, according to the Minnesota state patrol.

The head-on crash happened at 11:45 p.m. at the 49th Avenue exit of Interstate Hwy. 94, north of downtown Minneapolis.

The pregnant woman, 29-year-old Tao Thao, was in critical condition on Sunday at North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale. The van also carried her husband, 33-year-old Yia Vang, and five children between the ages of 3 and 10.

A 10-year-old son, Alex Vang, suffered injuries that were initially described as critical, but he was listed in fair condition Sunday afternoon. The other children and their father had minor injuries, the state patrol said.

The driver of the truck, Connie Stroud, "had way too much to drink to be driving," said state patrol spokesman Matt Langer, adding that he expects criminal charges to be filed against her. Stroud, 42, of Minneapolis, was in critical condition Sunday.

Yia Vang was the only person in either vehicle who was wearing a seat belt, the state patrol said.

Alcohol-related crashes, which account for more than one-third of traffic deaths, killed 163 people in Minnesota last year. Because the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's are particularly deadly, the state patrol and 400 local law-enforcement agencies are in the midst of a monthlong crackdown on drinking and driving.

SARAH LEMAGIE