93-year-old woman from Belle Plaine dies in wrong-way driving accident, Highway 169 closed for hours

BELLE PLAINE, Minnesota — An elderly woman has died after she drove the wrong way on a highway in the southwest of a city early Monday afternoon and collided head-on with another vehicle.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol, a 93-year-old woman from Belle Plaine was driving her Chevy Equinox southbound in the northbound lanes of Highway 169 at Belle Plaine Trail shortly before 1 p.m. when she collided head-on with a Chevy Silverado pickup truck.

The driver of the Silverado, a 38-year-old man from Elk River, suffered injuries that were not considered life-threatening and was not taken to a hospital.

State police identified the deceased driver as Irene Isabell Castor.

As a result of the accident, Highway 169 was closed for hours while emergency services were busy clearing the accident site. The highway has been open to traffic again since Monday at 6 p.m.

Alcohol is not believed to be a factor in the incident.