Icy roads likely played a role in a fatal crash Wednesday in Otter Tail County that killed a man and seriously injured his wife.
Kenneth Dunker, 71, of Henning, Minn., was killed in the two-vehicle crash, which occurred about 8:10 a.m. on Hwy. 29 about five miles north of Parkers Prairie, the State Patrol said.
Dunker was driving north on Hwy. 29 when a southbound pickup truck driven by 22-year-old Marissa Roden, of Henning, slid across the centerline on the snowy and icy highway and struck Dunker's pickup head-on, the patrol said.
Dunker, who was not wearing a seat belt, died at the scene. Roden was not seriously injured. She was wearing a seat belt, the patrol said.
A passenger in Dunker's truck, his wife, Beverly Ann Dunker, 74, was seriously injured. Beverly Dunker, who had her seat belt on, was airlifted to Sanford Medical Center, the patrol said.
Kenneth Dunker's death was the 306th fatality recorded on Minnesota roads this year compared with 326 at this time last year, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
Of this year's 306 deaths, 229 have been males and 77 females. Kenneth Dunker was one of 57 unbelted motorists who have died in traffic crashes this year, the department said.
Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768
