2 crashes on Highway 25 send drivers to hospital

MONTICELLO — Four local drivers were injured in two separate crashes Tuesday morning on Highway 25, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

In the first accident, just before 6 a.m. June 11 in Buffalo, a Big Lake woman and a Monticello man suffered non-life-threatening injuries after their vehicles collided on Highway 25 near mile marker 59.

Carol Marie Michaud, 60, of Big Lake was driving a 2021 Toyota RAV-4 southbound and was stopped at a red light at the intersection for John Ause Drive, according to the accident report.

She was struck by Ross Matthew McDonald, 21, of Monticello, who was driving a 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe SUV, also headed southbound, the patrol said.

Michaud was transported to Buffalo Hospital by an Allina Medical crew, according to the crash report.

Although McDonald was also injured, and the SUV’s airbag deployed, he did not seek medical treatment, the patrol said.

Both drivers were wearing their seat belts, road conditions were dry and alcohol was not involved, the report said.

In addition to Allina, the Buffalo Police Department also responded to the scene.

The morning’s second crash, just after 9:30 a.m., involved an elderly Monticello woman and a man from Big Lake, whose vehicle’s collided on Highway 25 at the intersection of 7th Street.

Marguerite Ann Dziuk, 81, of Monticello was behind the wheel of a 2011 Mercury Milan, driving northbound on Highway 25, the patrol said.

Corey Jon Bechtold, 48, of Big Lake, was driving a 2006 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck southbound when the two vehicles collided in the intersection, the accident report stated.

Dziuk was transported to CentraCare’s Monticello Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while Bechtold did not seek medical care for his injuries, the patrol said. The airbag in his pickup truck deployed, the report added.

As with the first crash, both of these drivers were also wearing their seat belts, road conditions were dry and alcohol was not involved, the report said.

Members of the Wright County Sheriff’s Office, along with CentraCare, responded to the scene.