Neglecting to wear a seat belt and being under the influence of alcohol were noted as factors in a single-vehicle crash that killed a young man from east-central Minnesota.

The death of Cole R. Hegge, 24, of Hinckley, Minn., was one of three that occurred Saturday in Minnesota in traffic crashes.

Hegge was heading west in his car on Hwy. 18 west of Finlayson, Minn., shortly after 7 p.m., when he fell asleep, drove onto the right shoulder, hit trees and rolled over, according to the State Patrol.

He was thrown from the vehicle and was dead at the scene. The patrol said Hegge did not have on his seat belt and evidence at the scene indicated that he had been drinking.

Elsewhere, a 38-year-old woman was killed in a crash involving three pickup trucks shortly before 2 p.m.

Jackie Boulton, of Watkins, Minn., died after the Ford Ranger in which she was riding was struck head-on on Hwy. 64 northwest of Pillager in central Minnesota.

According to the patrol, Jeffrey Grose, 43, of Shoreview, was driving south on Hwy. 64 in a Ford F150 when he crossed the centerline, glanced off a Chevy Silverado and struck the Ford Ranger being driven by Boulton's husband, Michael Boulton, 35.

The patrol said that alcohol use was detected for Grose but not for Michael Boulton. Both men sustained serious injuries, the patrol said.

Shortly after 10 a.m. in Pierz, Minn., a two vehicle crash killed 81-year-old Wilma Johnson, of Freedhem, Minn., after she pulled her car onto Main Street near 4th Avenue NE. and was broadsided by a pickup truck, the patrol said. There were no critical injuries reported among the others.

EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story errantly reported which vehicle crossed the centerline. That reporting was based on information supplied by the State Patrol at the time.

Staff Writer Anthony Lonetree contributed to this report.Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482