A two-vehicle crash near Lake Mille Lacs killed a woman in one vehicle and left the driver critically injured, authorities said Sunday.

The collision occurred about 12:55 p.m. Thursday near the southern shore of the lake in South Harbor Township, according to the State Patrol.

Joan V. Vivant, 82, of Onamia, was taken from the crash scene by air ambulance to North Memorial Health Hospital in Robbinsdale, where she died less than three hours later, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office said.

The car's driver, 78-year-old Joanne M. Koenig, also of Onamia, was in critical condition late Sunday morning at North Memorial, a hospital spokeswoman said.

According to the patrol, Koenig was turning from southbound Hwy. 169 to eastbound Hwy. 27 when her car was hit by a pickup truck heading north on Hwy. 169.

Pickup driver Jeffrey Baldenow, 53, and passengers Callison Olson, 19, and Cullen Olson, 24, all of Elk River, were not injured.

Paul Walsh