Alcohol Appears To Be A Factor In Little Falls Fatal Crash

A Wabasha woman died a head-on car crash in which alcohol appears to have been a factor. Two other people were injured during the Monday afternoon incident in Little Falls, including the driver who was driving down the wrong side of the highway.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol’s report, a car driven by Lana Jean Nornberg, 70 of Little Falls, was headed south bound in the north bound lane on Highway 10. She sideswiped a semitruck and then crashed into a car driven by Patricia Ann Gerchy, 52 of Bemidji.

Gerchy had non-life threatening injuries and was taken to St. Gabriel’s in Little Falls. She is currently in stable condition. Dolores Ann Mickow, 86 of Wabasha, was inside her vehicle and died at the scene.

The driver of the semitruck, John Russell Hulst, 38 of Viking, was not injured during the incident. His passenger, Kayla Sue Barth, 28 of Viking, was not injured as well.

All parties involved were wearing their seatbelts.

Nornberg was taken to Centra Care Hospital in St. Cloud. Her current condition is unknown.

The State Patrol says that a blood draw to determine Nornberg’s blood alcohol level has been administered. The test has been sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for analysis. It could take up to 30 days for the results to come back.

Once the Minnesota State Patrol has the results, a trooper would talk to the County Attorney and the appropriate charges could be filed. However, there could be charges filed regardless of blood alcohol level due to the nature of the crash.

The legal blood alcohol concentration limit in Minnesota is .08.