Sauk Rapids Woman Seriously Injured in Cass County Crash

(KNSI) – A Sauk Rapids woman is fighting for her life after a crash in northern Minnesota.

The Minnesota State Patrol says 39-year-old Lavae Oothoudt of Sauk Rapids was riding in a speeding pickup truck and trying to pass another vehicle as they were driving east on Highway 200 in Cass County just before 2:00 Monday afternoon. The truck slammed head-on into a Hyundai Tuscon, driven by 53-year-old Virginia Stewart of Longville. Stewart died in the crash.

Oothoudt, investigators say, was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the truck. She was rushed to Sanford Medical Center in Bemidji with life-threatening injuries.

The truck’s driver, a 39-year-old man from Walker, was also taken to Sanford Medical Center with what police say are non-life-threatening injuries. Police say he had been drinking before the crash. It’s unclear if that driver will be charged.