ROSEAU COUNTY, Minn. — An 82-year-old woman lost her life Friday afternoon after a head-on crash on a northwest Minnesota highway left her vehicle destroyed and a community shaken.
Barbara Lee Welberg, of Baudette, Minn., was behind the wheel of a 2013 Kia Sorento heading westbound on State Highway 11 when a 2000 Ford F-250 pickup crossed into her path. The collision happened around 3:30 p.m. in Spruce Township, a rural area just east of the city of Roseau.
She did not survive.
The driver of the F-250, Shauna Rae Dokken, 43, of Roseau, was injured in the crash but is expected to recover. She was transported to Life Care Medical Center in Roseau with non-life-threatening injuries, according to a Minnesota State Patrol report.
Authorities have not released details on what caused the F-250 to enter the oncoming lane. The crash remains under investigation.
Highway 11, a two-lane road that cuts through the flatlands of Roseau County near the Canadian border, is a primary route for residents in the region — many of whom travel it daily for work, errands, and medical appointments.
Welberg’s death is a reminder of how quickly a routine drive can turn fatal on rural roads, where emergency response times are longer and the margin for error is razor thin.
The Minnesota State Patrol is continuing to investigate the circumstances of the crash.
