Two women who were struck by a sport-utility vehicle while sitting at a picnic table at a drive-in restaurant in Taylors Falls on Saturday were in critical condition, the Chisago County Sheriff's Office said Monday.
Kristen Joan Christensen, 37, and Lauren Lippman Damman, 53, both of Minneapolis, were pinned under the vehicle after the driver backed into their table around 2:15 p.m. Bystanders rushed to their aid and lifted the vehicle off the women; they administered CPR on one of the women, whose head was submerged in a small stream that runs alongside the restaurant.
"There was an amazing outpouring of 15 people who came out of nowhere to help," restaurant owner Wade Vitalis said. "We're hoping and praying her life was saved."
The women were airlifted to Regions Hospital where they remained hospitalized Monday, the Sheriff's Office said.
According to Vitalis, the driver, identified by the Sheriff's Office as 67-year-old Bonnie Lea Rushfeldt of Dresser, Wis., pulled up to an ordering stall, then backed up the SUV, running into the table and up an embankment.
No charges have been filed. The Chisago County Sheriff's Office and the Minnesota State Patrol are investigating.
Tim Harlow
