Second person dies after I-35 crash

Published 11:39 am Wednesday, August 13, 2008

A second person is reported dead 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 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 from the crash.

Passenger Teagun Sunde, 11, also in the 2001 pickup, remains in critical condition, according to the State Patrol.

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.