A 77-year-old Audubon woman died Wednesday afternoon when a Nissan Rogue crossed the center line on Highway 95 in Greenbush Township and slammed head-on into the Chevrolet Blazer she was riding in, according to state patrol. Linda Diane Rouse was pronounced dead at the scene near 150th Avenue, where the crash happened around 3:49 p.m. Wednesday. The driver of the Nissan sustained life-threatening injuries, and alcohol is suspected as a factor in the crash.
According to Valley News Live, the 2017 Nissan Rogue was traveling eastbound on Highway 95 when it crossed the center line and struck the westbound 2026 Chevrolet Blazer head-on. State patrol identified the Nissan's driver as 52-year-old Jason Derrick Ziebarth of Saint Cloud, who was wearing his seatbelt and was taken to North Memorial with life-threatening injuries. Investigators say alcohol is suspected as a factor for Ziebarth, though no charges have been announced.
Rouse was a passenger in the Chevrolet, along with 79-year-old Arden Lee Rouse of Audubon, who was driving, and 74-year-old Janet Claire Huntley, also of Audubon. Arden Lee Rouse suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to St. Cloud Hospital, while Huntley also sustained non-life-threatening injuries. State patrol said all three occupants of the Chevrolet were wearing seatbelts, and alcohol was not suspected as a factor for Arden Lee Rouse. Road conditions were reported as dry.
A Familiar and Deadly Stretch of Highway 95
Emergency crews from the Princeton Police Department, Princeton Fire Department, Mille Lacs County Sheriff's Office, and North Memorial all responded to help at the scene, per the same account from Valley News Live. The crash marks yet another fatal head-on collision on this rural two-lane corridor of Highway 95 east of St. Cloud, a stretch that has now seen a troubling cluster of deadly crossover crashes in recent years.
Just five weeks earlier, on July 13, another vehicle crossed the center line on Highway 95 near 75th Avenue in Mille Lacs County, killing four people and critically injuring an 18-year-old, according to WJON. Hoodline previously covered that July collision near Mille Lacs. Nearly two years before that, on September 14, 2024, a similar center-line crossover produced another head-on collision on Highway 95 near 120th Avenue, also in Greenbush Township.
Rural Highways and the Risk of Impaired Driving
Legal researchers analyzing Minnesota crash data have found that rural counties such as Mille Lacs and Isanti report higher rates of DWI-related crashes than the statewide average, according to Fields Injury Law. Statewide, impaired driving remains one of the four primary contributing factors in fatal crashes, alongside speeding, distracted driving and unbelted occupants, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Office of Traffic Safety, as reported by MPR News.
Minnesota recorded 370 traffic fatalities in 2025, down from 475 the year before and the lowest annual total since 2019, per preliminary data from the state Department of Public Safety. State officials have credited the decline in part to a 2023 legislative investment of $20 million in dedicated funding to expand state and local patrols targeting impaired driving and speeding. Meanwhile, seat belt compliance across Minnesota stood at 94.7 percent in the most recent fiscal year, according to the Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety's FY24 annual report — a rate reflected in Wednesday's crash, where every occupant in both vehicles was belted.
What Comes Next
If toxicology results confirm alcohol impairment, Ziebarth could face felony criminal vehicular homicide charges under Minnesota Statute § 609.2112, which covers negligent operation of a vehicle while under the influence resulting in death. The statute carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, with Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines establishing a baseline mandatory minimum of 48 months in prison for a conviction. It remains unknown whether the Mille Lacs County Attorney's Office will pursue such charges, and whether MnDOT or local officials will examine safety changes along this section of Highway 95 following the string of fatal crossovers.
