An 18-year-old driver from Foley died Thursday afternoon after his pickup truck rolled following a collision with a trailer being pulled by another pickup on northbound Highway 25 at County Road 10 in St. George Township, Benton County. The crash happened around 4:15 p.m. and left two other men involved in the wreck uninjured, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.
The teenager was driving a 1995 Dodge Ram pickup that collided with a fleet trailer being pulled by a 2013 Ram pickup, according to Bring Me The News. The impact caused the teen's truck to roll, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Minnesota State Patrol crash report, logged under ICR 26602483, confirms the collision occurred at 4:14 p.m. on dry pavement, and notes that no airbag deployed in the teen's Dodge Ram.
Police said the teenage driver was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, per the outlet's report. As of Friday morning, the state patrol had not yet released his name; officials have scheduled the official public identification for Friday evening.
Two Other Drivers Walked Away Unharmed
The driver of the pickup pulling the fleet trailer was identified by the Minnesota State Patrol as 27-year-old Tyler Lee Hurtig of Brainerd. Hurtig was wearing his seat belt and sustained no injuries in the crash. A 49-year-old man from Wadena, also involved in the collision, likewise walked away uninjured, per the same account.
Emergency crews that responded to the scene included the Foley Police Department, Foley Fire Department, the Benton County Sheriff's Office, and Mayo Clinic Ambulance, according to the state patrol's incident log.
A Seat Belt Gap That Shows Up in the Numbers
The contrast between the two outcomes lines up with a pattern state officials have flagged for years. Under Minnesota Statute § 169.686, seat belt use has been subject to primary enforcement since 2009, meaning officers can pull over and ticket an unbelted driver or passenger on that basis alone, with fines typically running around $100.
Even so, preliminary 2025 data from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Office of Traffic Safety shows that 68 of the state's 363 traffic fatalities that year involved unbelted occupants, nearly 20% of all deaths on Minnesota roads. That's despite observational surveys recording seat belt use above 94% statewide for years running, hitting 95.2% in 2025.
Teen drivers carry outsized risk in that picture. State data shows they make up only about 6% of Minnesota's licensed drivers, yet are disproportionately represented in severe crashes tied to inexperience, lower seat belt use, and the heightened risks of summer driving.
Third Fatal Crash In Benton County In Ten Days
Thursday's crash marks the third fatal traffic incident to hit Benton County in a matter of days. Just ten days earlier, on August 17, a motorcyclist was killed in Langola Township when a pickup truck turned into his path, a crash Hoodline covered in reporting on a blind hill danger zone. A day before that, a Sartell woman was killed after being thrown from her vehicle in a rollover in neighboring St. Wendel, a crash tied to suspected speed and alcohol.
Regional data from the Stearns-Benton Toward Zero Deaths initiative shows Stearns, Benton, and Sherburne counties recorded a combined 33 traffic fatalities in 2025. Rollovers remain a particular concern nationally: federal crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates rollovers account for roughly 35% of passenger vehicle fatalities, and that seat belt use cuts the risk of complete ejection during a crash from 31% down to just 1%.
Highway 25 has seen other fatal incidents in the region this year, including a UTV crash in Crow Wing County that killed a 70-year-old man in July. The Minnesota State Patrol continues to investigate Thursday's crash, and the identity of the teenage driver is expected to be released Friday evening.
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