Deputy scrambles to safety. Squad car in flames a nanosecond after impact. Yes, it’s beyond salvage. Image: Destiny Hyatt

Three cars in collison; injures all minor

BRAINERD, Minn. – A sheriff’s deputy rammed the rear of two other cars stopped on Highway 371 north of Brainerd and burst into flames. The deputy, Matthew Jorgens, 42, of Nisswa. escaped with minor injuries. He was taken to the Brainerd hospital. So woo were three people in the vehicles that Jorgens struck. Crow Wing County Sheriff Eric Klang said the struck  vehicles had stopped on a southbound lane of the four-lane north-south thoroughfare through Brainerd. This was about 2 p.m. at Barbeau Road. The sheriff asked the State Patrol to investigate how and why it all happened. The occupants if the struck vehicles, all also with minor injuries, were taken to the hospital:

> Rhonda Miller, 58, of Minneapolis.

> Jeffrey Miller, 59, of Minneapolis.

> Charlotte Zimmerman, 78, of Brainerd.

FARMINGTON, Minn. – A Red Wing woman was burned horribly when she crashed into a semi-truck and punctured its fuel tank. Jessica Nicole Patteron, 34, suffered life-threatening injuries, deputies said. She was taken 30 miles to the Regions Hospital burn center in St. Paul. The collision was three miles south of Farmington on State Highway 3. This was  shortly before 12:30 p.m. Deputies said that Patterson had gone through a stop sign. The truck, a Freightliner, swerved in attempt to avoid Patterson’s vehicle, which plowed into the fuel tank. A passenger in the vehicle, Alfaro Hisundy, 27, suffered non-life threatening injuries. The truck driver, Christopher Todd Carlson, 37, of Fredericktown, Missouri, was unhurt. Patterson was driving a 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe. The accident was at 240th Street.

WINONA, Minn. –The Chamber of Commerce alerted merchants that counterfeit $100 hills are being passed around town. Three merchants have been stiffed in recent days, the Chamber said. The bank that rejected the bills in daily merchant deposits said they were clumsy fakes —  no watermarks, no security strips, and with an undersize image of Benjamin Franklin.

WINONA Minn. – A thief has been lurking in recent days at Winona Marina on the East End at the foot of Laird Street. The latest report, police said, was Saturday. A $500 fish-finder, a radio, and a fishing rod were reported missing from a boat at a marina slip.

WINONA, Minn. –  A Winona driver who was stopped for weaving in and out of lanes told police he had downed a couple beers. A blood-alcohol test suggested more — 0.20%, of his blood was alcohol,  roughly 2-1/2 times what the law allows. Irving Flores Garcia 27, was taken to jail. This was a little before midnight on Broadway.

Flores Garcia. Accused of driving while intoxicated.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – A minivan crashed into a brick building, bringing part of the structure down on the minivan. No one was in the building.  The driver, Merissa Reed, 29, of Green Bay, and a passenger, a 27-year-old Oneida man, suffered non-life threatening injuries, police said. The crash was about 10:45 p.m. Reed told police that she had been stopped at a red light. When she pulled away, she said, another driver cut her off. She said she braked and spun around backwards and into the building. Witnesses saidi t looked like drag racing.

Tumbling down. Not much left of the facade of one end of Main Street Commons. The building was home to 14 business tenants.

LACROSSE, Wis. – A dog-walker found a woman’s body along the Bud Hendrickson hiking trail in the north LaCrosse marshlands. Officers were called around 9 a.m. The death was being regarded as suspicious. An autopsy was scheduled.

Suspicious death. Body near Cunningham and Harvey streets.

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – A teen-age driver, probably drunk, led police in a 100 mph chase, which was way too fast for the curve at a roundabout. The car flipped. Miraculously the driver survived. He was in serious condition at an Eau Claire hospital. Eau County Sheriff Dave Riewestahl declined to release the driver’s name but said he was 17. Officers on the scene said for sure that alcohol was as involved. The accident was at 4:20 a.m. at North Crossing and Black Avenue. A deputy had observed erratic driving and given chase. The deputy said the driver was hitting 100 mph at points. At the roundabout the driver struck a curb and overturned.

Prosecution recommenced. For driving under the influence and recklessly endangering other people’s safety. Image: Eau Claire County sheriff

ALMA Wis. – The Army Corps of Engineers plans an open house at its Alma lock and dam Saturday. Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Free. The Corps will have booths and displays to promote water safety.

WINONA, Minn. – A LaCrescent man became so obnoxious at a small Saturday night house gathering that the hostess told him to leave. He didn’t. This according to police is what happened next. The hostess called police. They escorted the unwanted guest to a gas station, where he said he would wait for a ride home to LaCrescent. Sounded good, the officers thought. They left to resume their other duties. But as soon as the officers were out of sight, the man went back to the party place in the 750 block of West Broadway, broke out a back screen window, and rejoined the merriment, He tried running when officers showed up, but his sprinting abilities, impaired as they were, rendered him easy to tackle to the ground. The officers cuffed Lenny Michael Boberg, 21, and this took him to jail.

Boberg. Held on these charges:  Trespassing, fleeing, police, obstructing justice.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A Rochester woman on a powered pedal bike was struck by a car and seriously injured. Police Chief Jim Franklin didn’t release the victim’s name. It was known that she was 37 and from Rochester. Police said she had stopped at flasher-controlled intersection of Highway 14 and Eighth Avenue Southeast, which is the main Rochester-Winona route. After stopping she had entered the intersection.  A sedan driven by a 26-year-old Austin woman had failed to stop at the light in her lane, police said. Her name also was not released by the chief. The accident was about 6:45 p.m.

HOUSTON, Minn. — A LaCrosse motorcyclist was injured when he skidded into the ditch on the gentle, sweeping U.S. Highway 16 curve near the Valley High golf course. Matthew Scott Dunnum, 22,, was taken 16 miles to a LaCrosse hospital with sustainable injuries. He was heading east toward Hokah on a 2003 Honda CBR600. This was about 12:50 p.m.

WINONA, Minn. – A man reported three tires were slashed overnight on his parked car. He told police he suspected a one-time friend to whom he owed money. This was in the 550 block of East Fourth Street.

Out and about. Ducks and geese sharing a summer afternoon on Winona’s Lake Park shore. Image: Steve Lunde