9-year-old Minnesota boy and father die in series of accidents on Ohio Turnpike

PRIOR LAKE, Minn. — A Minnesota family is changed forever after a series of tragic highway accidents.

The Tibetan refugees were on their way to New York to meet the Dalai Lama when the fatal accident occurred last Thursday.

Among the dead were 9-year-old Dawa Norbu and his father, 46-year-old Tenzin Drukgyal, both beloved members of a local Tibetan community organization.

Twelve-year-old Tenzin Choedon was seriously injured in the accident and is in critical condition in an Ohio hospital.

The mother of the family is now home in Prior Lake with a broken arm, worried about her daughter and grieving for her husband and son at the same time.

“Everybody come here and pray with us right now. All the Tibetans are going through a lot of grief. All the Tibetans from Minnesota, everybody is so sad,” said Sonam Wangchuk, a friend of the family.

Tenzin goes to Tibetan school on Saturdays. She is described as very hardworking and several of her teachers have written messages of support to her.

The family started a fundraiser on GoFundMe to help pay for their medical bills.

Authorities in Ohio have arrested a truck driver for causing one of the crashes.