Two people were killed in separate accidents Thursday and Friday in rural Minnesota, the State Patrol reported.
On Friday, a 75-year-old man from Clitherall, Minn., died after allegedly driving his minivan the wrong way on a state highway in Otter Tail County and colliding with another vehicle.
According to the State Patrol, the man turned off County Road 35 onto Hwy. 210 and headed east in the westbound lanes outside Underwood. He then crashed into a sport-utility vehicle that was traveling west after a vehicle in front of the SUV had swerved to avoid him.
The driver and a passenger in the SUV, both from Fergus Falls, were wearing seat belts and sustained noncritical injuries.
The accident happened about 5:45 p.m., and road conditions were dry, authorities said. The victim's name had not been released as of Saturday morning.
On Thursday evening, a woman from Finlayson, Minn., was killed after a head-on collision on a state highway north of Mora, the State Patrol said.
Mia Lisa Besemann, 58, died after her sedan, heading south on Hwy. 65 in rural Kanabec County, was struck by a northbound pickup truck that had crossed into the southbound lane.
The driver of the pickup, Christopher Stafford, 46, of Braham, Minn., was not injured. One of his two passengers, a 30-year-old man from Brook Park, Minn., was taken to Mora Hospital-Welia Health for treatment of noncritical injuries.
The collision occurred about 6:30 p.m., and road conditions were dry. Alcohol was not a factor, authorities said.
