A rollover crash on southbound Highway 101 near County Road 36 in Otsego left two Minneapolis residents with life-threatening injuries on Wednesday afternoon. Tong Pao Vue, 67, was driving a 1999 Ford Econoline when the van left the roadway and rolled, according to the Minnesota State Patrol. His passenger, 64-year-old Shoua Xiong, was also seriously hurt in the crash.
According to the WJON report on the incident, the crash happened at about 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, though official Minnesota State Patrol incident records place the timing at approximately 3:08 p.m. on August 12, 2026, at the intersection of southbound Highway 101 and County Road 36. The crash was logged under Case No. 26602324 by the state patrol’s St. Cloud District, which covers highway patrol duties across a dozen central Minnesota counties, including Wright and Sherburne, and monitors key commuter corridors connecting St. Cloud to the Twin Cities region.
State patrol incident logs indicate that both Vue and Xiong were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, and alcohol was not suspected as a factor. Airbags did not deploy in the Econoline, and road conditions were dry at the time. Both victims were transported to Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, an Allina Health facility verified by the American College of Surgeons as a Level II Trauma Center providing round-the-clock specialized trauma surgical care as the primary regional trauma hub for the northern Twin Cities metro area.
Multiple Agencies Responded to the Scene
The Wright County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Michael Fire Department, Elk River Fire and Police units, and Allina Health Ambulance crews all responded to assist the Minnesota State Patrol at the crash site. The multi-agency response reflects how Otsego sits at the border of several municipal jurisdictions spanning Wright and Sherburne counties. It remains unclear what caused the van to leave the roadway, and whether Vue and Xiong are still in critical condition at Mercy Hospital has not been confirmed.
A Stretch of Highway With a Troubled History
This is not the first serious crash near this exact interchange. In October 2021, a 70-year-old Elk River man died in the same area when his pickup truck left the southbound lanes and struck a bridge wall, as reported by Minneapolis Patch. Bridge abutments along County Road 36 have created structural hazards for vehicles that leave the roadway at that stretch…