Four killed – including two girls – as semi sparks horrific pileup in northern MN

A semi-trailer driving at "highway speeds" crashed into four stopped vehicles in northeastern Minnesota on Wednesday, killing four people – two of them nine-year-old girls – and injuring three others.

The Minnesota State Patrol said the crash was reported at 2:54 p.m. on Highway 2 and Nelson Road in Arrowhead Township west of Duluth, where four vehicles – a GMC, a Ford, a Mack Semi, and a Honda were stopped in traffic due to construction when an International Semi struck them from behind at full speed.

The Minnesota State Patrol has confirmed that four people in the Honda Pilot were killed. They are driver Vincent Louis Dow, 65, passenger Bonnie Mae Dow, 66, and nine-year-olds Hope Mae Oakgrove and Charlotte White. All four are from Blackduck, Minnesota.

Three people suffered non-life threatening injuries, including the 63-year-old Grand Rapids man who was driving the semi-trailer that sparked the crash. Also injured were the 45-year-old Rochester man driving the Mack truck, and an 84-year-old Grand Rapids woman who was a passenger in the Ford.

An investigation into the collision is ongoing.

Note: The details provided in this story are based on law enforcement’s latest version of events, and may be subject to change.