Highway 14 claims another life

(Mankato, MN) – One man died and another driver was injured in a crash on Highway 14 Tuesday.

A 23-year-old North Mankato man was killed in the crash, which happened between Courtland and Nicollet.  The Minnesota State Patrol has not yet released the man’s name.

A Ford Explorer was eastbound on Highway 14 when the vehicle crossed into the westbound lane, colliding with a Chevy Malibu driven by the fatally injured man.

The driver of the Explorer was transported to Mayo Clinic Mankato with non-life threatening injuries, according to the patrol’s crash report.  It’s not known whether the deceased driver was transported to a healthcare facility following the crash.

Roads were snow and ice-covered, according to the state patrol’s crash report.

The crash happened just before 1 p.m, closing and detouring Highway 14 for hours.

This is the third fatal crash in Nicollet County in two consecutive days, and the second on Highway 14.  On Monday, a 17-year-old girl was killed when her vehicle collided with a semi on Highway 111 north of Nicollet.  Just two hours later, a woman died in a crash with a semi on Highway 14 near New Ulm.

***This story was edited to remove the name of the Explorer driver.  The man listed in the crash report has told SMN he was a witness, and not the driver of the Explorer.