Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Steve Erdahl says driver climbed back into vehicle to retrieve item from floorboard; More than 15 vehicles have gone through the ice on Lake Minnetonka this season, resulting in three deaths.
Steve Erdahl and his dog Chewy were out for a walk early Tuesday evening and on their way back home when they suddenly found themselves in the middle of an emergency. “We walked to Big Island, and the sun was just setting,” Erdahl said. “We got up by the yacht club and this guy goes by me relatively fast in an SUV doing about 30.“ A pressure ridge formed near the yacht club about three weeks ago and extends out into the bay about 300 yards. Signs mark the dangerous ice—as do several holes where cars have already gone in this winter. Erdahl said the driver slowed down to about 10 mph when he reached the channel area. The next thing he knew, the Honda was half submerged—nose down—in the water. “One second you’re walking on the ice with your …
Video: Sheriff Steps up Safety Precautions on Lake Minnetonka
Monday, February 4, 2013
Cars through the ice; snowmobiles sunk; three dead; ice fisherman react; more than a dozen vehicles have gone through Lake Minnetonka ice this winter.
The second and third deaths of the season attributed to thin ice conditions on Lake Minnetonka has got people talking. Below are a selection of notable comments left on Lake Minnetonka Patch's Facebook page and Tweets from throughout the country about the recent accidents. ryan dietrich @rydadi: @DeRushaJ oh no. Same last name but no relation at all. Worked together at MG Granite City when I was finishing school. Sad thing. Jim Manning: "I was fishing on Grays bay when this happened. Was not at all worried to drive my truck on the ice, everywhere I drilled a hole was 16+ inches of ice. I just can't understand why anyone would drive trough a channel, especially when there were "thin ice" signs all around the channel. Susie Jones @…
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Saturday afternoon accident near the Grays Bay Bridge claimed the lives of Harland Dietrich and Mary Ann Haram.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office has formally identified the two Maple Grove residents who drowned in Lake Minnetonka Saturday afternoon after their car broke through the ice. Harland Dietrich, 31, and Mary Ann Haram, 87, were trapped underwater for nearly an hour before divers could free them, according to the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office. The two lived together on 9000 block of 98th Place North in Maple Grove. Their deaths are the second and third this season attributed to accidents caused by thin ice. Nine-month-old Tabitha Markle died last month after her family's vehicle broke through the ice near the Halstead Bay Bridge. The first emergency responders reached Grays Bay in approximately six minutes, and several water …
Saturday, February 2, 2013
The Sheriff’s Office Dive Team recovered the man from the submerged car and he was flown by helicopter to HCMC. A short time later, the elderly woman was recovered and transported by ambulance to HCMC. Both died Saturday evening.
- POLICE & FIRE
- Jay Corn
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Saturday, February 2
Update (Feb. 3, 5:10 p.m.): The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office has formally identified the two Maple Grove residents who drowned in Lake Minnetonka Saturday afternoon after their car broke through the ice. Click here for more. Update (Feb. 3, 10:48 a.m.): Two people have died after their vehicle became submerged in Lake Minnetonka yesterday, Feb. 2. A man in his 30s and an elderly woman, both from Maple Grove, died Feb. 2 at HCMC. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner will release the names of the victims. A vehicle broke through the ice underneath the Grays Bay Bridge around 2:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon—trapping two occupants for nearly an hour according to the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office. Major Darrell Huggett said one …
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Saturday accident occurred near Big Island; deputies had posted thin ice signs in the area earlier in the day.
It has been a hazardous season on Lake Minnetonka. About a dozen vehicles have gone through the ice this winter, most since the beginning of the year. An accident Jan. 18 under the Halstead Bay Bridge in Minnetrista led to the death of an infant, and seven cars went through the ice between Jan. 18 and Jan. 23. Temperatures that have hovered around freezing the last few days again have area safety officials urging Lake Minnetonka recreationalists to adhere the following safety guidelines: Related Posts:
Monday, January 28, 2013
Reports continue to come in of automobiles, ice boats and recreational vehicles going through the ice on Lake Minnetonka.
A Patch reader took these photos of a car getting hauled out of Lake Minnetonka at the pressure ridge that has opened up southwest of the Minnetonka Yacht Club. The car went in Saturday night. Apparently, the driver got out okay. The post was shared more than 40 times on Lake Minnetonka Patch's Facebook page. An iceboat also went in to the water at the same pressure ridge on Sunday. The front runner got stuck under the ice, but with some help from passers-by the ice boaters were able to pull the boat out themselves. At least one other vehicle went through the ice on Lake Minnetonka this weekend, reportedly Saturday afternoon on Carsons Bay. No injuries were reported. It has been a hazardous season on Lake Minnetonka. About a dozen vehicles…
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Tabitha passed away Monday morning. The following is her obituary.
Editor's Note: Information courtesy Morris-Nilsen Funeral Home Tabitha Rose Markle, age nine months, is preceded in death by her grandfather, Lawrence Markle. She is survived by parents, Jonathan and Amanda; sister, Isabelle; grandparents, Marilyn Markle, Marvin and Mary Seefeld; aunts and uncles, Sandy and Dave Pevonka, Laura and Jason West, Amy and Aaron Seefeld and Emily Seefeld; cousins, Kenneth and Sara Pevonka, Natalie, Jacqueline and Gabriella Seefeld. Services Mass of Christian burial will be Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Peter’s Catholic Church 6730 Nicollet Ave. S., Richfield. Interment Resurrection Cemetery. Visitation will be Thursday, Jan. 24, from 4-7 p.m. at Morris Nilsen Chapel, 6527 Portland Ave. S., …
After a rash of vehicles going through the ice in recent days, including one that resulted in the death of an infant, Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek urges residents to review ice safety guidelines.
- POLICE & FIRE
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Thursday, January 24
by Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek There have been seven vehicles that have broken through the ice on Lake Minnetonka in four days, Jan. 18-21. Tragically, one incident resulted in the death of an infant, an 8-month-old girl from Minnetrista. Related Posts: The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office reminds residents that no ice should ever be considered safe. Residents are urged to review these safety guidelines: Last winter Sheriff Stanek took the unusual step of ordering all vehicles off Hennepin County ice after a rash of accidents was blamed on thin ice conditions. Stanek said Saturday that he was not yet prepared to take a similar step this winter.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Saturday night's accident occurred on the Browns Bay side of Spirit Island. It was the fourth vehicle to break through the ice in less than 48 hours.
- POLICE & FIRE
- Jay Corn
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Sunday, January 20
A vehicle broke through the ice on Lake Minnetonka Saturday night. It was the fourth to go into the water in less then 48 hours. Saturday's accident occurred on the Browns Bay side of Spirit Island, and Wayzata Fire Department Chief Kevin Klapprich said no injuries were reported. "It went through last night, but I can't tell you exactly what time," Chief Klapprich said. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Water Patrol responded to the scene Saturday night and was back again late Sunday morning after a resident reported seeing what turned out to be the same vehicle submerged in the water. "The Hennepin County Water Patrol was out there today (Sunday) with their water boat, and some of my guys went out there with them," Chief Klapprich said. "They…
Orono
5:27 pm on Monday, February 4, 2013
Nope, not saying that at all. The thickness of the ice is irrelevant to what happened. more ›