A pregnant woman is the third person to have died from the consequences of a passing maneuver on a southern Dakota County highway last week that ended in a crash that also killed her husband behind the wheel and the couple's 1-year-old daughter.
Elizabeth M. Calderara, 26, of Cannon Falls, Minn., was kept on life support following the wreck on July 18 on Hwy. 56 near Randolph to allow relatives to pay their last respects. She died two days later, according to the Ramsey County medical examiner's office.
Also killed in the crash was her husband, Jason M. Calderara, 31, and their daughter, Melody. Elizabeth was within a month or so of delivering a son, who would have been named Hawk. A memorial service was held for all four on Sunday in Prior Lake.
Another person in the SUV was Jason Calderara's son, 9-year-old Nicholas. He survived, as did the driver of the semi.
Shortly before the crash, Jason Calderara was driving the family's SUV heading north and passed another vehicle, then "cut back to the northbound lane at the last second," the patrol said.
That move caused a minivan coming the other way to brake hard and move to the right shoulder to avoid the SUV. However, a semitrailer truck behind the minivan also braked and jackknifed into the Calderaras' SUV, the patrol said. The big rig hit the SUV on the driver's side.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
