JACKSON, Minn. —The multi-fatality accident Friday near Jackson punctuated a family birthday celebration. Among those who died was Richard Warren Johnson of Jackson, whose 74th birthday was coming up. His wife Katleen also was killed. Hey were among 12 family and friends packed into a van with a hired driver. They collided with a second vehicle. Some early news accounts called the van a “party bus,” which led to misleading inferences. State Police said there was no evidence of alcohol. The accident was between 4 and 5 o’clock on a Friday. The crash was a lengthy straight stretch of two-lane U.S. Highway 71 between Jackson and the Iowa border. The driver of the van escaped critical injury. The driver of the other vehicle died on impact.
