2nd person dies in I-35 crash

Published 9:22 am Thursday, August 14, 2008

A second person has died as a result of the head-on collision Friday night on southbound Interstate 35.

According to a Minnesota State Patrol report updated Tuesday night, Andy Kubena, 35, of Maplewood, the driver of the 2007 Ford pickup involved in the collision, died at St. Marys Hospital in Rochester.

Reports indicated Kubena was northbound on I-35 when he crossed the median near the Minnesota-Iowa border and in the southbound lanes collided with a 2001 Ford pickup driven by Thomas Merklin, 61, of Iowa Falls, Iowa.

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No alcohol was detected in Kubena’s system, according to reports.

June Modlin, 54, a passenger in the 2001 Ford pickup, died earlier this week as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.

Passenger Teagun Sunde, 11, also in the 2001 pickup, is in serious condition, according to a St. Marys Hospital spokeswoman.

Another passenger in the 2001 pickup, Tayla Sunde, 15, was treated and released the night of the incident. Merklin received no apparent injury, according to reports.