6-year-old girl hospitalized after crash south of Perham

A 6-year-old girl from New York Mills was hospitalized Tuesday morning after two vehicles collided south of Perham at Highway 78 and Minnesota Street, sending her to Perham Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The Minnesota State Patrol identified the child as Everly Ann Stafki, 6, of New York Mills. She was riding in a 2013 Kia Optima driven by Sara Ann Zutter, 49, of New York Mills, when it collided with a 2022 Chrysler Voyager driven by Zachary Robert Fankhanel, 20, of Chandler, Arizona. The crash was reported at 8:30 a.m. June 2 in Perham Township, and both vehicles were traveling south on Highway 78 before the collision at Minnesota Street.

Neither driver was hurt. The State Patrol incident listing, case 26900956 out of District 2900 in Detroit Lakes, said all three people involved were wearing seat restraints, airbags did not deploy in either vehicle, alcohol was not suspected and the roadway was dry. Perham police officers, Otter Tail County deputies and Perham Ambulance workers assisted at the scene.

The crash landed on a corridor that matters well beyond one intersection. Highway 78 carries traffic through the Perham area and connects communities across southern Otter Tail County, including the route toward Otter Tail Lake and downtown Ottertail. For families moving through Perham, the intersection at Minnesota Street is part of the daily pattern of school runs, work commutes and local errands, which makes any injury crash there a concern for drivers and parents alike.

MnDOT is already studying the Highway 78 corridor from Highway 10 near Perham through downtown Ottertail and along Otter Tail Lake, with a focus on intersection safety, pedestrian connections and accessibility. That work underscores how a crash involving a child passenger can quickly raise questions about how safely the road handles turning traffic, southbound flow and people moving on foot near busy crossings.

Highway 78 is also part of the Otter Trail Scenic Byway, a route promoted across Otter Tail County for its scenic and recreational value. On a road that serves local travel, tourism and cross-county traffic, a morning collision at Minnesota Street left one young passenger in the hospital and put another familiar Perham intersection back in the spotlight.