A driver stopped his vehicle on a western Minnesota highway to clear the frost from the windshield before dawn Monday and was fatally hit by an oncoming vehicle, authorities said.

Anthony W. Thacker, 50, of Portsmouth, Ohio, was struck shortly before 6 a.m. on Hwy. 210 in Fergus Falls, and died later in the day, the State Patrol said.

According to the patrol:

Thacker stopped his minivan on the highway near County Road 86 to remove the frost off his windshield. A car driven by Bryan C. Robinson, 30, of Golden Valley, N.D., hit Thacker's minivan.

An SUV driven by Dustin Tomte, 30, of Fergus Falls, then broadsided the driver's side of the minivan with Thacker behind the wheel and unbelted.

Thacker's passenger, 36-year-old Dustin D. Dekarske, also of Portsmouth, survived his injuries. The other two drivers were not hurt.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482