5-Year-Old St. Paul Girl Dies After Crash In East Twin Cities Metro

LAKE ELMO, MN — A 5-year-old girl was killed after a two-car crash in Lake Elmo on Saturday. The girl's father and brother, and a second driver, were also injured in the collision but survived.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol, on Saturday just before 10 p.m., a Ford Focus stalled in the left lane of traffic on eastbound Highway 36 at Lake Elmo Avenue.

Meanwhile, authorities said a Nissan Pathfinder was also traveling eastbound on Highway 36 when it crashed into the back of the Ford Focus at highway speeds.

Morgan Rae Petersen — who was in the Ford Focus — was transported to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where she later died.

Also in the Ford were the girl's father and her 10-year-old brother. They were both hospitalized at Regions with non-life-threatening injuries.

"My brother suffered a concussion and mild head injury, my nephew had an angel watching over him and is fine, but my beautiful niece did not pull through," Nicole Guillette wrote on GoFundMe

"She suffered a broken neck and serious brain injuries that were not survivable. We lost her this afternoon."

The 47-year-old driver of the Nissan, also of St. Paul, was taken to Regions with non-life-threatening injuries. It's not clear if alcohol was a factor for the Nissan driver, authorities said.