Authorities suspect distracted driving led to the four-vehicle pileup in a north metro interstate construction zone that killed a Twin Cities mother who was sitting beside her fiancé.
Brea A. Miller, 31, of St. Paul, was identified last week by the Hennepin County medical examiner as the passenger who died in the wreck on May 1 along Interstate 35W near County Road D in New Brighton. Miller was hospitalized at Hennepin County Medical Center and died three days later.
The driver of the car Miller was riding in, Michael D. Bain, 37, also of St. Paul, suffered serious injuries, the State Patrol said. Miller and Bain were both wearing seat belts.
According to the patrol:
An SUV and a minivan were stopped in a construction zone on northbound 35W as Bain's compact car drew near. An Acura sedan rammed the compact from behind at freeway speed and pushed it into the SUV and the minivan.
"Preliminary investigation indicates that the driver of the Acura TSX may have been distracted," the patrol said in a statement. The patrol has yet to say more about the possible distraction.
The suspected distracted driver, Destiny Y. Xiong, 34, of Hudson, Wis., survived her injuries. The others in the two stopped vehicles either suffered less than serious injuries or escaped harm altogether.
Charges in the pileup have yet to be filed.
