Minnesota Motorist Dies After Truck Goes Airborne, Strikes Tree

Aitkin, MN (KROC-AM News)- An elderly Minnesota man lost his life in a crash on Saturday. 

See Also: Minnesota Man Walking on Hwy. 52 Fatally Struck by SUV

The State Patrol responded to the deadly crash around 2:30 p.m.

He was the only person involved in the single-vehicle fatality. 

Elderly Ironton, MN Man Dies in Single Vehicle Crash Along Mille Lacs Lake

The fatal crash occurred on Hwy. 18 along the northern shore of Mille Lacs Lake in Aitkin County. 

A westbound pick-up went off the road to the right, went airborne off a driveway approach, struck a tree then rolled onto its roof before coming to rest in the ditch, the state crash report says. 

The State Patrol identified the driver as 77-year-old Leon Herbert Schefers of Ironton, MN. He was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Schefers was buckled up and it’s not known if alcohol was involved in the crash, according to the state crash report. 

Hwy. 18 was wet at the time of the fatal crash, the State Patrol says.

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