Two-vehicle crash in Gilbert sends woman to hospital with minor injuries

A westbound Jeep turning onto Highway 37 collided with an eastbound Ford Bronco at the Highway 135 intersection in Gilbert, sending a 72-year-old local woman to the hospital with minor injuries.

The crash happened at 12:22 p.m. Monday, May 4, at Highway 135 and Highway 37 in St. Louis County. The Minnesota State Patrol identified the Jeep driver as Kathleen Margaret Giblin of Gilbert and the Ford driver as Kimberly Sue Hamann of Aurora. Giblin was driving a 2026 Jeep Compass and was transported to Essentia Health - Virginia with minor, non-life-threatening injuries.

Hamann, 54, also was listed with non-life-threatening injuries but was not taken to a hospital. The Ford’s airbag deployed, while the Jeep’s did not. Both drivers were wearing seat belts, road conditions were dry, and alcohol was not suspected for either driver.

The State Patrol said the Jeep was traveling westbound on Highway 135 and turned southbound onto Highway 37 before striking the eastbound Ford. The incident was logged as injury crash ICR 26310552 in District 3100, based in Virginia, and the case was later marked complete. Gilbert police, the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, Gilbert Fire and Virginia EMS all assisted at the scene.

The crash adds a local data point to a statewide traffic-safety picture that remains serious even as Minnesota’s death toll has run below last year’s pace. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety said the state had 84 traffic deaths to date in 2026 as of May 1, compared with 99 at the same point in 2025. The agency uses crash data to track who is hurt, why crashes happen and how factors such as alcohol and seat belt use shape the outcome.

In Gilbert, the immediate takeaway is simpler: a midday turn across a two-lane highway was enough to send one driver to the hospital and another home with injuries, a reminder that the Highway 135 and Highway 37 crossing can turn hazardous in a split second.