The Minnesota State Patrol is investigating a pair of fatal crashes that happened Thursday in rural parts of the state.
One person was killed in a crash involving three vehicles in Douglas County in west-central Minnesota around 5:50 p.m., according to a crash report.
Per the State Patrol, the driver of a Chevy Silverado was northbound on County Road 1 in Solem Township when he failed to stop a stop sign, causing a collision with a Ford pickup that was eastbound on Highway 27. The Chevy also struck another Chevrolet pickup that was westbound on Hwy. 27.
The driver of the pickup that caused the crash, identified as 66-year-old David Lloyd Olson, of Kensington, Minnesota, was transported to a hospital in Fargo where he died from his injuries. He was not wearing a seatbelt, the State Patrol said.
The other drivers involved in the three-vehicle crash suffered injuries that are not life-threatening.
Earlier Thursday, at approximately 12:58 p.m., a motorist died in a head-on crash in Renville County.
The State Patrol reports that the head-on collision involved a Ford truck and a Dodge Intrepid on Highway 71 near County Road 11 in Winfield Township, which is about 20 miles south of Willmar.
The driver of the Intrepid, identified as 34-year-old Christopher John Novotny, of Renville, was pronounced dead at the scene. The other motorist, a 55-year-old New Ulm man, was taken to a hospital in Olivia for treatment.
The Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety website has so far tracked 330 deaths on Minnesota roads this year. That's up from 309 at the same point in 2019, when there were 364 traffic fatalities in Minnesota.
