Minn. teen dies in Hwy. 52 crash; State Patrol says other driver had been drinking

A 16-year-old girl from southeastern Minnesota was killed in a head-on collision on Hwy. 52 in Fillmore County on Thursday night, authorities said.

Just before 9 p.m., a northbound pickup crossed the centerline and struck the teen's car, according to the State Patrol.

The girl, identified Friday as Kaitlyn H. Hansen, of Canton, died at the scene. She was wearing a seat belt.

The pickup driver, Cindy L. Mueske, 55, of Ashland, Ill., who was unbelted, was thrown from her vehicle when it rolled into a ditch. She was taken to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester with noncritical injuries.

Alcohol was detected in Mueske's blood, but it is unclear how much of a factor it played in the crash, the patrol said.

Hansen was a junior at Fillmore Central High School. The school canceled all athletic practices Friday and postponed girls basketball games at Lewiston-Altura. Counselors were on hand for those needing grief support.

Earlier Thursday, an Oakdale man died of injuries suffered in a two-vehicle crash, the patrol said.

Dwayne W. Johnson, 87, was driving south on Hwy. 95 in Cottage Grove around 3:25 p.m. when he failed to observe a stop sign at 70th Street. Johnson's vehicle struck a pickup truck that was in the intersection turning from 70th north onto Hwy. 95, the patrol said.

Johnson, who was wearing his seat belt, was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where he died six hours later, the patrol said.

The pickup truck driver, Alan Horwath, 53, of Woodville, Wis., was taken to Regions with noncritical injuries.