Two women from Minnesota died and two others were injured in a bizarre accident on Interstate 94 on Saturday, Oct. 21. A semi truck and trailer going westbound near St. Michael lost two of its wheels, which flew over the cable barriers and hit a 2023 Nissan Rogue heading eastbound. The impact caused the Rogue to veer off the road and crash into a bridge barrier.
The driver of the Rogue, Viengkhone Nguyen, 44, of Brooklyn Park, and one of her passengers, Lea Khamphachanh, were declared dead at the crash site. The other two passengers, Pane Eisenschenk, 45, of St. Cloud and Tiana Kanlya Deppa, 28, of Rice, Minn., were taken to North Memorial Medical Center with injuries that were not life-threatening. The accident closed the eastbound lanes of Interstate 94 for several hours as the Minnesota State Patrol investigated the scene with the help of witnesses. Allina and North Memorial ambulance services also responded to the incident.