OWATONNA – A Steele County jury on Thursday awarded $4.

Friday, February 16, 2001

OWATONNA – A Steele County jury on Thursday awarded $4.6 million to the families of three people killed in a car accident near Blooming Prairie four years ago.

The claim comes from a head-on collision on Steele County Highway 30 near Blooming Prairie in February 1997. The accident killed Rebecca Wallace and Robert and Kathleen Wallace.

The verdict is thought to be the largest personal injury award in Steele County history, according to attorney Paul Dahlberg, who represented Rebecca Wallace’s family in the case.

Dahlberg, with the Rochester law firm of Meshbesher & Spence, said he "was pleased the jury honored those who died that night by their verdict."