Two people died in separate traffic crashes on Tuesday, the Minnesota State Patrol said.

A 23-year-old man was killed when he crossed the centerline and collided with a semitrailer truck on Hwy. 52 in Preston Township in Fillmore County in southeastern Minnesota. Andrew Christopher Davidson, of Austin, Minn., died in the crash at 3:13 p.m.

According to the patrol, the semi driver, Chad Steven Finseth, 40, of Preston, Minn., was heading north and tried avoid Davidson's vehicle but struck it on the northbound shoulder, the patrol said.

Davidson died at the scene. Finseth was not hurt. Both men were wearing seat belts, the patrol said.

Earlier in the day, Catalino De Leon Alvarado, 47, from Rockville, Minn., died morning after his vehicle hit a tree and landed upside down in the Sauk River, the Stearns County Sheriff's Office said.

Alvarado was heading south on County Road 139 near Rockville around 5:25 a.m. when he went off the road at the intersection with Sauk River Road. Evidence showed he apparently tried to apply the brakes, but he continued through the intersection and clipped a yellow sign warning of the T intersection. He then hit a tree before his Honda CR-V flipped onto its roof and landed in the river, said Sheriff Don Gudmundson.

Another motorist noticed the downed road sign and tire tracks leading to the river and called for help, he said.

Paramedics and crews from Rockville Fire and Rescue extricated the victim, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver, who was the lone occupant, had borrowed the car the day before the crash. Authorities were talking with the car's owner.

Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768