Toddler Injured in June 1st Crash has Died

(KNSI) — A three-year-old girl from Rice who was seriously injured in a crash on June 1st has died.

According to the Caring Bridge page for Nevaeh Ripka posted on Saturday, “Our little angel got her wings last night at 10:00. She is now in the arms of her daddy.”

According to the Minnesota State Patrol’s incident report, 32-year-old Alexander John Ripka of Rice was killed when a driver going south in the northbound lanes hit him head-on around 2:25 that morning. The impact caused his Pontiac Vibe to spin out and hit a Mercedes Sprinter Van driven by 35-year-old Ibrahim Theophile of Buffalo, New York. Crash investigators say Ripka was not wearing his seatbelt and was ejected. He died at the scene. Nevaeh was seriously injured and airlifted to Gillette Children’s Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The wrong way driver, 28-year-old William Alexander Flores-Zamora, had to be extricated from his car and died a short time later. The van driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Regions Hospital for treatment.

The report says it is unknown if Flores-Zamora was under the influence.

Ripka was traveling to help a friend on a farm. Nevaeh was buckled into her car seat on her way to her grandparent’s house, where she would stay while her dad was working. A GoFundMe page says she underwent emergency surgery to relieve the pressure on her brain. Nevaeh had numerous surgeries and has been on life support since the crash.

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