Meteorologist Killed While Storm Chasing In Minnesota

NOBLES COUNTY, MN — A meteorologist was killed and four others were injured in a three-vehicle crash that occurred during Wednesday night's severe weather.

Martha Lilian Llanos Rodriguez, 30, of Mexico died at the scene of the crash, which occurred in Lorain Township in southwest Minnesota.

Just before 6 p.m., Rodriguez was in one of three vehicles that were eastbound on Interstate 90. Power lines had fallen over the interstate due to the storm, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

The Chevrolet hatchback that Rodriguez was in stopped to avoid hitting the wires, police said. A Freightliner Cascadia semitrailer truck behind it collided with the Chevrolet. Meanwhile, a Pontiac G6 car collided with wires.

"We were doing some storm chasing," Diego Campos told the Star Tribune. "The storm was really bad, and we were trying to get out of there."

The woman's final tweets were about following the storm with her colleagues into the state.

In total, six people were involved in the crash.

In the hatchback, in addition to Rodriguez, police said:

• The 37-year-old driver, a man from Chile, suffered a non-life-threatening injury.
• A 42-year-old man from Annapolis, Maryland, suffered a potentially life-threatening injury. Authorities said he was not wearing his seat belt.
• A 33-year-old man from Chile suffered a non-life-threatening injury.

Also, the driver of the 2009 Pontiac G6 suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said. The driver of the semitrailer truck was not reported injured.

The Minnesota State Patrol is investigating the crash.