Central Minnesota man hit by pickup while riding golf cart on road dies

A 77-year-old man who was struck by a pickup truck while riding a golf cart on a lakeside road in central Minnesota on a Sunday afternoon has died, authorities said.

Edward J. Ringwelski, died Friday, five days after the collision along the western shore of Little Rock Lake in Watab Township, southeast of Rice.

The use of golf carts on public roads is illegal in Minnesota except where local jurisdictions pass an overriding ordinance. Township Clerk Pat Spence said Tuesday that her municipality has no such ordinance.

The crash scene by the lake "has some traffic, but not like Hwy. 10," said Spence, who played organ for Ringwelski's funeral Monday at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Rice. "I saw him use it to visit friends, mostly."

According to the Benton County Sheriff's Office:

Deputies were called to the crash scene shortly after 3 p.m. on Oct. 18 and determined that Ringwelski had been riding his golf cart south on W. Lake Road, less than 2 miles from his home, where it collided with a pickup truck backing out of a driveway.

Emergency responders treated Ringwelski at the scene before he was taken to St. Cloud Hospital with ­critical injuries.

Sheriff Troy Heck said Tuesday that his office is investigating the crash and intends to send a case to the county attorney's office for consideration of charges.

Ringwelski is survived by his wife, two children, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. His funeral home obituary says he grew up in Little Falls, Minn., lived in Minneapolis for 20 years, and his final 40 years near Rice. He worked as a baker for Taystee Bakery in the Twin Cities for 32 years, retiring in 1991.