Sartell woman, 18, dies in central Minnesota crash

AVON, Minn. — Authorities in central Minnesota are investigating a crash that killed a teenager and seriously injured another Tuesday afternoon.

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office says it received reports of a crash at the intersection of County Road 9 and County Road 52/Two Rivers Road in Avon around 2:17 p.m.

Upon arrival, deputies found two vehicles with heavy damage in the ditch of County Road 9. 

Investigators learned a 62-year-old man had been driving his 2014 Chrysler Town and Country southbound on County Road 9 when he entered the intersection with County Road 52. As he entered, he allegedly saw a car enter the intersection in front of him from the west. That’s when he struck the driver’s side of the other car, a 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix.

The sheriff’s office says the westbound and eastbound traffic on County Road 52 at County Road 9 is controlled by two stop signs, while traffic traveling northbound and southbound does not stop.

The driver of the Pontiac, 18-year-old Ellie Wittstruck from Sartell, died from injuries suffered in the crash. The passenger, an 18-year-old woman from St. Cloud was airlifted to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the Chrysler suffered minor injuries.