From staff reports
MABEL -- Three passers-by who were hit by a car Thursday while helping victims of an auto accident near Mabel remained hospitalized in Rochester today.
The driver of a car involved in the initial head-on crash Thursday morning also apparently went to a La Crosse, Wis., hospital.
Richard Ryan, 65, of Houston, was in critical condition today at Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester. Two Stewartville men -- Charles Murphy, 35, and Travis Holtzworth, 21 -- were in fair condition at Saint Marys, a Mayo Clinic spokeswoman said.
The crash occurred at 5 a.m. Thursday on Minnesota Highway 44 about three miles east of U.S. 52 near Mabel, the patrol said.
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A westbound car driven by Jeffrey Sampson, 21, of Ferryville, Wis., crossed the center line and collided head-on with a sport utility vehicle pulling a trailer, according to the report. Sampson was taken to Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse for treatment. A Gundersen spokeswoman said the hospital is not releasing information about Sampson, including whether he's still in the hospital.
The driver of the SUV, Ronald Van Veldhuizen, 49, of Oelwein, Iowa, was treated at Gundersen and released, the spokeswoman said.
The three good Samaritans were injured about 10 minutes after the first crash while helping people at the scene. An eastbound car driven by Roger Holdeman, 42, of Elma, Iowa, struck the trailer of the SUV -- which was broadside in the roadway -- and then the three pedestrians, the patrol reported.
Neither Holdeman nor passenger Krista Holdeman, 15, also of Elma, was injured.
The state patrol is still investigating both accidents.
