WEST FARGO – A 47-year-old West Fargo woman was killed in a three-vehicle crash on Main Avenue on Wednesday morning after the driver of the SUV she was in was swerving in and out of traffic, police say.
Barampama Eda died at the scene of the crash near Main Avenue and Fifth Street East, West Fargo police Lt. Duane Sall said.
Her husband, Rwasa Elias, 53, of West Fargo, was driving the SUV that rolled over in the crash. He suffered significant injuries and was taken by ambulance to Essentia Health, Sall said.
Eda was pronounced dead at the scene.
West Fargo Police Chief Mike Reitan said the decision on whether to recommend criminal charges for the driver will have to wait until further study of the accident. There is no indication the driver was speeding, Reitan said.
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Troopers from the North Dakota Highway Patrol are working to reconstruct the accident.
Shortly after 7:30 a.m., Elias was driving an SUV east on Main Avenue with Eda as his passenger, and an initial investigation shows he was swerving in and out of traffic, Sall said.
Elias lost control of the SUV, crossing the median into the westbound lane, where it was stuck by an oncoming car, Sall said. The SUV rolled and came to rest on its roof.
The four passengers in two other cars involved in the accident refused medical attention for their non-life-threatening injuries, Sall said.
All appeared to have been wearing seat belts.
Road were slippery in the area at the time of the crash.
The area where the accident happened is not generally the scene of crashes, Reitan said, but it is also where the speed limit increases from 30 to 40 mph in the eastbound lane of Main Avenue.
People tend to speed up as they approach the sign, rather than once they’ve passed it, he said, and police have used radar enforcement there to crack down on speeders.
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Eda had been operating a small West Fargo day care at 818 1st St. since March, according to Cass County Social Services.
A woman who answered the door their Wednesday night declined to comment.
Forum reporters Adrian Glass-Moore and Wendy Reuer contributed to this report.
