Itasca County Jury Awards $28.6 Million to Woman Paralyzed in 2009 Coleraine Crash

The incident happened on October 9, 2009

An Itasca County jury has awarded $28.6 million to a Marble, Minnesota woman who was paralyzed when an Ely Public School District bus crashed into the car that she was a passenger in.

Paige Anderson was 16 years old when the accident happened at the intersection of Curley Avenue and Highway 169 in Coleraine, Minnesota, on October 9, 2009.

Anderson, who is now 23, has been paralyzed from the neck down since that day. On January 26, 2017, after a seven-day trial, the jury awarded Anderson $28.572 million in past and future damages.

The jury’s award included damages for past and future medical expenses, past and future pain, suffering, disability, disfigurement, emotional distress, and loss of earning capacity.

A Minnesota State Patrol reconstruction of the crash indicated that inattentiveness between both drivers contributed to the collision. Excessive bus speed was also cited by the Minnesota State Patrol. During the crash, the bus was dragged nearly 100 feet before both came to rest.

The jury found the bus driver, Jay Poshak, to be 10-percent at fault and Hailey Salo, the then 18-year-old Grand Rapids resident driving the vehicle Anderson was a passenger in, to be 90-percent at fault.

Another passenger in Salo’s car, Emmy Foss of Bovey, Minnesota, was killed in the crash.