One car clipped another while attempting to pass on a western Wisconsin highway, setting off a three-vehicle collision that killed an 83-year-old Twin Cities woman, authorities said Wednesday.

The crash occurred shortly after 2:30 p.m. Tuesday along Hwy. 35 just north of Somerset, according to the St. Croix County Sheriff's Office.

Killed were Goldie Culver, of Apple Valley, and Amanda L. Day, 34, of Osceola, Wis. Culver was wearing a seat belt, while Day was not, the Sheriff's Office said.

According to the Sheriff's Office: Day was heading north on Hwy. 35 and tried to pass a car driven by Terry B. Baillargeon, 60, of Somerset, when she hit his car on the left side and toward the back, sending him into the ditch.

Day's car then hit Culver's southbound car, sending the Apple Valley woman and her vehicle into the ditch.

Culver was taken by air ambulance to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where she died. Day was dead at the scene. Baillargeon, who was wearing a seat belt, was treated for noncritical injuries at a Stillwater hospital.

The highway was closed for the rest of the afternoon as emergency personnel cleared the scene and conducted their investigation.

Paul Walsh