Fatal crash involving teen driver trying to pass semi on MN highway

A teen driver attempting to pass a semi on a northern Minnesota highway and collided head-on with another motorist on Tuesday afternoon, with the other motorist dying in the crash.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol, a 16-year-old boy from Hutchinson was driving a Chevrolet Silverado westbound on Hwy. 23 in rural Kanabec County when he attempted to pass a semi, resulting in him and the driver of an eastbound Cadillac to swerve and collide head-on on the south shoulder of the road.

The man driving the Cadillac, identified as 59-year-old Kim W. Kolesar, of nearby Brook Park, died in the crash. The State Patrol says Kolesar was not wearing his seatbelt.

The 16-year-old in the pickup was taken to a hospital in Mora to receive care for non-life-threatening injuries. A 61-year-old Hutchinson man who was a passenger in the Silverado was treated for minor injuries at the scene.