(file photo)
A five-vehicle chain reaction crash on I-94 in Monticello late Thursday afternoon left three people injured, and backed-up rush-hour traffic on the freeway.
The State Patrol reports that just before 5 PM, a Ford pickup, a Ford SUV, a Honda SUV, and a Toyota SUV, along with a Ford passenger car all were westbound near milepost 194 in Monticello when they collided.
Injured in the crash was the driver of the Ford Focus sedan, 30-year-old Shannon Blackmer of Faribault. She was treated at CentraCare Hospital in Monticello for non-life threatening injuries. A passenger in the Blackmer vehicle, 29-year-old Neil Wehrle of Minneapolis, also sustained non-life threatening injuries and was treated at the Monticello Hospital.
The driver of the Honda SUV, 21-year-old Karla Atencio of Becker also had non-life threatening injuries as a result of the crash, and was treated at CentraCare Hospital in Monticello.
The driver of the Toyota SUV, 68-year-old Paul Wetschka of Big Lake, and a passenger, 55-year-old Maria Wetschka, also of Big Lake, both escaped injury.
The driver of the Ford F150 pickup, 18-year-old Blake Hillstrom of Maple Lake, and the driver of the Ford SUV, a 27-year-old man from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, were not injured.
The Wright County Sheriff’s Office, the Monticello Fire Department, and CentraCare Ambulance assisted State Troopers at the scene.
