Rice Man Dead After He Crashes Car Into Horseshoe Lake

(KNSI) – A Rice man has died after crashing his car into Horseshoe Lake.

The accident happened Thursday night. A boater called in to Stearns County dispatch just after 8:30 to alert sheriff’s deputies that a 2012 Chevrolet Impala was partially submerged under the water. Cold Spring Police also responded. It appears the driver went off a bridge in the 2000 block of Edgeton Road in Munson Township and dropped into the water below.

Law enforcement was able to get into the vehicle and pull the driver, 23-year-old Tate William Lehnen, to shore. They attempted life-saving measures, but paramedics from Eden Valley Rescue and Mayo Ambulance pronounced Lehnen dead at the scene.

The accident scene has been recreated, and investigators now believe Lehnen was driving east on Edgeton when he overcorrected for a left-hand turn in the road. He crossed the median and eventually went down the steep ditch and into the water of Horseshoe Lake.

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