{"id":24154,"date":"2026-03-31T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=24154"},"modified":"2026-03-31T06:03:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T11:03:36","slug":"park-rapids-head-on-crash-kills-two-on-highway-71","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/park-rapids-head-on-crash-kills-two-on-highway-71\/","title":{"rendered":"Park Rapids Head-On Crash Kills Two on Highway 71"},"content":{"rendered":"

Park Rapids<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2014 Two Park Rapids drivers died in a head-on crash Sunday evening on Highway 71 near Albert Avenue South.<\/p>\n

Authorities said the crash happened at about 8:16 p.m. A Kia Telluride was heading south. A Ford F-150 was heading north. Investigators said the pickup crossed the center line. It then hit the Kia head-on.<\/p>\n

Who Was Involved<\/h2>\n

Kimberly Rife, 39, of Park Rapids, was driving the Kia. A 13-year-old girl was riding with her. Bradley Hayes, 45, of Park Rapids, was driving the Ford. A 5-year-old boy was also in the pickup.<\/p>\n

Both drivers suffered fatal injuries. The 13-year-old girl suffered life-threatening injuries. The 5-year-old boy suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.<\/p>\n

Crash Scene and Response<\/h2>\n

Emergency crews responded Sunday night and found heavy damage. The crash happened on a stretch of Highway 71 near Albert Avenue South. The road became the center of an active investigation.<\/p>\n

Head-on crashes often cause severe injuries. This case was no different. The impact left two adults dead and two children hurt.<\/p>\n

Investigation Continues<\/h2>\n

Authorities said alcohol is suspected in the crash. That part of the case is still under review. Officials have not released more details at this time.<\/p>\n

Investigators will review the scene, vehicle damage, and witness information. They may also study other factors tied to the crash. A full report may take time.<\/p>\n

Readers can follow official updates through the Minnesota State Patrol<\/a> and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Community Impact<\/h2>\n

This crash has deeply affected Park Rapids. It involved two local adults and two children. Families in the area are now waiting for more answers as the case moves forward.<\/p>\n

More information may be released after the investigation advances. For now, the community is left grieving a tragic Sunday night crash on Highway 71.<\/p>\n

I’m Chris Harper reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Park
Park Rapids Head-On Crash Kills Two on Highway 71<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Park Rapids (trfnews.i234.me) \u2014 Two Park Rapids drivers died in a head-on crash Sunday evening on Highway 71 near Albert Avenue South. Authorities said the crash happened at about 8:16 p.m. A Kia Telluride was heading south. A Ford F-150 was heading north. Investigators said the pickup crossed the center line. It then hit the… Continue reading Park Rapids Head-On Crash Kills Two on Highway 71<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[15813,15811,998,772,3290,5968,6270,2297,9673,2793,15810,2550,178,11378,15812,2985,2005],"class_list":["post-24154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-alcohol-suspected","tag-bradley-hayes","tag-crash","tag-crime","tag-fatal-crash","tag-head-on","tag-head-on-crash","tag-highway","tag-highway-71-crash","tag-kills","tag-kimberly-rife","tag-minnesota-crash","tag-park","tag-park-rapids-crash","tag-park-rapids-news","tag-rapids","tag-two","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24154"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24214,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24154\/revisions\/24214"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}