Four North Dakota State University Students Killed In Minnesota Car Crash

Four students at North Dakota State University were killed in a car crash Monday during a snow storm on Interstate 94 in Minnesota.

The students, all women, died when their car crossed the median and was broadsided by an SUV. The AP reports heavy snow, fog, strong winds and temperatures near freezing made travel difficult in the region.

The women were identified as Lauren J. Peterson, Jordan N. Playle, Megan R. Sample, and Danielle R. Renninger. They were heading back to school at NDSU from Minneapolis, Minn. after visiting family over the long holiday weekend. Three of the students, Playle, Renninger and Sample, were roommates.

"We had the most amazing weekend," Michael Renninger, Danielle's father, told the AP Tuesday, fighting back tears. "She was so thankful for life. She was making comments about how wonderful her life is. It was just so strange, thinking of it now."

The SUV that hit the women's car was struck from behind by a third vehicle, the Austin Post-Bulletin reported.

"A car heading westbound lost control, crossed the median, and hit the Suburban in front of us head-on," Kari Christensen, driver of the car that hit the SUV, wrote on her Facebook page. "It all happened in a split second. I had no time to get us out of the way of the Suburban."

The driver of the Suburban was hospitalized.

Grief counselors are now making themselves available at the campus of NDSU.

"I don't believe I have ever been faced with this type of tragedy of this magnitude," Prakash Mathew, NDSU's vice president of student affairs, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Three of the four girls in the crash lived together in a suite on campus. Their fourth roommate in the suite, who was not in the car crash, has reportedly returned to her family in West Fargo.

Comments

[phockitol]

11:08 AM on 02/22/2012

I had to go to a legitimate news source to find out WHERE along the I-94 this happened, since that Interstate pretty much traverses the entirety of Uffdaville........for the record, it was 5 miles west of Alexandria, which is in west-central MN.

[hopein2012]

10:42 AM on 02/22/2012

This is so unbelievably sad. I also feel bad for their roommate who wasn't with them. How traumatizing to lose three friends. RIP ladies.

[susque47]

09:53 AM on 02/22/2012

Does it really matter about the reporting? 4 young girls are gone and their families will never be the same again. May God give them all comfort and peace in their time of grief. So sorry for their loss.

[Annetta Britain]

09:33 AM on 02/22/2012

My prayers go out to the families of these girls. Thank God everyday for the time you had and try to live knowing Gods arms are wrapped around them in Heaven! God bless you all!

[lucyfurr]

08:55 AM on 02/22/2012

A reminder that every single person we love and cherish in our life is on loan. Don't take them for granted. Tell them you love them. Peace and healing to all family and friends of the girls.

[hopein2012]

10:39 AM on 02/22/2012

well said

[Girl4God]

08:42 AM on 02/22/2012

Lives lost so young........... breaks my heart ............. Loving condolences from this mom, who has had her share of anxious moments, to all of the families and friends ...............

[Admiral Farragut]

08:28 AM on 02/22/2012

The pain of such loss must be nearly unbearable. I thank God each and every day for the gift of just one more day to hold my daughter close.
I hope people put their priorities in perspective. Life is fleeting.

[pdubpablo]

08:40 AM on 02/22/2012

Couldn't have said it any better....

[SUSIE11]

08:28 AM on 02/22/2012

SAD SAD TRAGEDY TO HAPPEN

[Nas9204]

08:07 AM on 02/22/2012

Sad Story especially 4 students probably 19 or 20 years old

[Berfunckle]

07:42 AM on 02/22/2012

Terrible reporting of this horrific tragedy. First let me say, may God bless these girls and their families.
As far as the reporting of this story...how about getting the facts correct and not showing your bias. The vehicles AND people involved were a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu driven by the four young girls, a 2008 Ford Expedition driven by a 58 year old man and a 2007 Toyota Camry driven by a 71 year old woman. Reporting that it was an SUV that hit their car not to mention that it was reported later in the story as a "Suburban" is lazy and inaccurate reporting, suggesting it was the "SUV" that was responsible for this terrible tragedy. Leave it to the Huffington Post to use a terrible tragedy as this to indirectly blame an "SUV" for the deaths of these unfortunate girls.

[Michelle Mae]

08:34 AM on 02/22/2012

yeah, I was confused about the Expedition/Suburban part too!! Thank you for clarifying!

[TERPMOM]

08:51 AM on 02/22/2012

I don't know if that was HP's intent, but you are absolutely right on about sloppy reporting! The writer was all over the place. It seems the HP doesn't employ a proofreader. Scary if they do.

[horsequeen124]

05:20 AM on 02/22/2012

This is a terrible thing that happend. It is not the parents fault for letting them drive nor is it the kids faults. Accidents are called accidents for a reason. It could of happend to older adults or any one of any age. Yes they could have waited till the next day, but up north you drive it that type of weather your whole life. Things just happen, theres not anything that anyone can do about it. Rest is peace girls, you were all great people and will be dearly missed. My prayers go out to all of your families. I know all four of you girls are watching down on all of your family and friends helping them through this tragic loss.

[sheri4007]

02:45 AM on 02/22/2012

My condolences to their families and friends. This was a tragedy.

[EarnestEarnestie]

03:02 AM on 02/22/2012

Got to be a deliberately provocative comment. Moderator out of respect for four dead women please remove hope this guy never has a daughter. Karma

[horsequeen124]

05:26 AM on 02/22/2012

It shouldnt matter if they were hot or not. They were four great women that did not deserve this and that will be greatly missed.

[Cavcop]

02:21 AM on 02/22/2012

Peace to the families and to the driver of the Suburban.

Please everyone, when the weather's bad, slow down or wait.

[okfrank]

10:12 AM on 02/22/2012

I have never understood why people can't just slow down in bad weather conditions. It is heartbreaking to hear or see what happens when we don't exercise a little patients and slow down or wait until better weather conditions. God Bless all of them.

[Vitojr130]

04:10 PM on 02/22/2012

Well, that's just the thing: weather conditions. The temperature in their hometowns was about 5 degrees warmer than it was between Alexandria and Fargo. When the accident occurred, the temperatures were just cold enough for the snow and slush to form a small (VERY small) layer of ice on the roadways. Where they are from, snow was melting on contact with the ground. They probably thought the roads were fine because of this.

[ychoirchick]

10:39 PM on 02/22/2012

Someone a few cars behind them said they thought the roads weren't that bad, so maybe the poor girls didn't realize it either. Either way, we don't really know if they were driving impatiently or not, and it is very tragic either way. One of my friends graduated with Lauren. She said she was one of the most amazing people she has ever met.

[Brenda Griffin]

01:35 PM on 02/22/2012

Very sad, I wish they had waited for better weather too, but GOD is good.

[victorzeller]

12:38 AM on 02/22/2012

Why were they even driving in those conditions?

[Vitojr130]

04:15 PM on 02/22/2012

Because it was snow, not a blizzard. Us people from Minnesota drive in snow all the time. This was not a huge weather system, or anything else out of the ordinary. People drive when it snows all the time here and it's not that dangerous. The dangerous thing about their trip is that the part of Minnesota where these girls are from is always about 5 degrees warmer than where they were going. They left the twin cities with temperatures warm enough to melt snow on contact with the ground, but by the time they got past Alexandria, temperatures were cold enough to allow for slush and ice to develop on the roads. They probably never got out of their vehicle, since it is only a 3.5 hour drive from Fargo to the twin cities, so they probably didn't know that the roads were getting slightly worse..