2 dead, 2 arrested after highway crash near Cromwell

Men from Esko and Duluth were killed in a motor-vehicle crash Monday morning in Carlton County.

Two people were arrested after the three-vehicle crash that killed Zachary M. Gamache, 25, of Esko and Mitchell D. Lingren, 29, of Duluth, the Minnesota State Patrol said.

The crash was reported at 8:47 a.m. on Minnesota Highway 210 near Award Boulevard, west of Cromwell.

According to the State Patrol, the crash happened when an eastbound 1996 Oldsmobile Aurora, which was weaving, crossed the centerline and hit Gamache’s westbound 2004 Ford pickup in its left rear tire. The axle on Gamache’s truck broke, and his vehicle veered into oncoming traffic. It sideswiped a 2006 Ford 350 pickup and then hit the gooseneck trailer it was pulling.

Gamache and his passenger, Lingren, were ejected.

The driver of the second Ford pickup, Christopher G. Hecker, 42, of Nisswa, Minn., escaped with no apparent injury.

The driver of the Oldsmobile was identified as a 26-year-old Cloquet woman and her passenger as a 25-year-old Cloquet man. Neither suffered an apparent injury.

The woman was arrested for criminal vehicular operation. The male passenger fled the scene and was later caught and arrested on an outstanding warrant.

A search of Minnesota court records found more than 30 charges — many of them traffic-related, including more than one driving after revocation – in 22 cases on file against the woman. She was convicted of driving after revocation on July 5 and pleaded guilty to having no proof of insurance on July 26.

Her male passenger also has more than 30 criminal counts in 22 cases on his record. The charges include theft, assault, drug use, underage consumption, driving after revocation and fleeing a peace officer.

The News Tribune typically does not name suspects before formal charges are filed.

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