FARIBAULT, Minn. — Investigators are trying to determine the cause of a head-on crash in Faribault Saturday that left five teens injured, three of them seriously.
Faribault police say officers were dispatched to the 1100 block of 9th Ave. SW around 1:40 p.m. after several 911 calls reporting a crash with multiple injuries and one driver still trapped inside a vehicle.
Responding squads found two vehicles – a Ford F-150 pickup with a single occupant, and a Chevy Silverado pickup with four inside – had collided head-on. First responders immediately began providing aid to all the victims, who were between the age of 15 and 18.
"You want to make sure the kids and the parents in this situation know that we’re there for them and care for them," said Faribault High School Principal Joel Olson. "The school side of things is secondary to them being healthy."
The 18-year-old male driver of the Chevy and a 17-year-old female passenger both suffered serious injuries and were airlifted to North Memorial Medical Center for treatment. A 15-year-old male riding in the Chevy was taken to Allina Medical Center in Faribault by ambulance with injuries listed as serious, as was a 15-year-old male with minor injuries.
Police say the 17-year-old driver of the Ford pickup suffered only a minor injury.
"There’s a deep love for this place and when one of your own goes through something like this, you take it on," said Olson, crying. "You care deeply for those kids."
A spokesperson for Faribault High School confirmed in a statement that four of the teens involved in the crash are students from the school.
"We are thankful to our emergency responders for providing treatment and support to our students. Our counselors, social workers and Health Finders staff are working in collaboration with teachers and administrators to support students during this difficult time."
A Facebook post by the Faribault H.S. Hockey Team says three of those involved in the crash are team members, with a previous post saying Saturday night's hockey game was being canceled for "unforeseen circumstances."
"They all sustained injuries, but we are so thankful nobody lost their life!," read the post. "They have a long road to recovery so we ask for continued prayers."
Olson said the athletic director was considering bowing out of the season that's almost over, but that many of the students still wanted to play. The team is now short some players.
"I think it would mean a lot for the kids to be able to do that and it’s a place where they can kind of forget about that stuff," said Olson. "We’re just thankful that they’re still alive and they get to come back."
Faribault police have called in the Minnesota State Patrol Accident Reconstruction Team in an attempt to determine exactly what led to the head-on crash. One thing investigators did say is that driver impairment is not suspected as a contributing factor.
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