DULUTH, MN : Mother and daughter killed in a wrong-way, head-on crash on Monday, 2nd April 2018

Relatives of the mother and daughter killed in a wrong-way, head-on crash on Interstate 35 in Duluth are asking for donations to help defray the cost of their funerals.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to accept donations for the family of Duanda Robinson, 26, and Damiah Anderson, 2, both of Duluth

Brittany Jackson, Robinson's aunt, said Robinson was driving from her brother's house in Duluth back to her own house in Duluth just before 1 a.m. Monday, April 2, when her 2001 GMC Yukon was struck head-on by the wrong-way driver.

Aaron David Dame, 23, of Duluth, was traveling north on southbound I-35 when his 1997 Toyota 4Runner collided with Robinson's Yukon near 40th Avenue West. The Minnesota State Patrol said alcohol was detected in his system.

Dame, who was convicted of drunken driving in 2016, and Robinson were pronounced dead at the scene. Damiah Anderson was pronounced dead at Essentia Health-St. Mary's Medical Center.

Two passengers in the Yukon — Robinson's infant nephew, Jajuan Anthony Starks, and his mother, 22-year-old Arriana Nicole Norling, both of Minneapolis — were transported to Essentia Health-St. Mary's Medical Center.

"My nephew, by the grace of God, is alive," said Robinson's aunt, Catdetra Starks, who added that Jajuan was recovering but spent Monday night in the hospital for observation.

Starks said Norling has been released from the hospital but suffered broken ribs and other injuries.

Dame's passenger, Abigail Kristine Ptasnik, 22, of Duluth, was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center with injuries that were were described as life-threatening. She was listed in serious condition at the Minneapolis hospital as of late Tuesday afternoon.

Robinson, who has three other children who were not in the car, moved to Duluth from the Twin Cities several years ago. She was in the process of moving back to the Twin Cities when the crash occurred, said Jackson.

"She moved to Duluth to try to get her life back together,'' Starks said. Funeral services are tentatively planned in the Twin Cities, she added.

While the Patrol noted that alcohol was found in Dame's system, it can often take months for official toxicology results to be available. Neither Dame nor Ptasnik were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, authorities said.

It remained unclear how far Dame's vehicle traveled in the southbound lanes before the collision occurred. A State Patrol spokesman could not be reached for additional details Tuesday.

Source :
Wrong-way driver in Duluth I-35 crash was on probation for DWI: Donations sought for victims