2 Hurt in Stearns County Crash

BELGRADE – Two people were taken to the hospital after a crash between two pickups and a semi in rural Stearns County on Wednesday morning.

The crash happened around 8:45 a.m. near the intersection of Highway 71 and Greencrest Road in Crow River Township, near Belgrade.

The State Patrol says a pickup driven by 24-year-old Brian Maland of Eagle Bend was southbound on Highway 71 when it hit a patch of ice, spun out and crashed into a northbound pickup driven by 77-year-old Marvin Kray of Willmar. While spinning, Maland’s pickup also crashed into a semi, northbound on Highway 71, driven by 29-year-old Daniel Illies of Belgrade.

Maland and his passenger, 24-year-old Cody Biggs of Browerville, were taken to Paynesville Hospital with injuries not considered to be life-threatening. No one else involved in the crash was hurt.