A 70-year-old Eagan man is dead and a 70-year-old woman is fighting for her life after the Mini Cooper they were riding in lost control and rolled in a highway median in Cannon Falls Monday evening. The Minnesota State Patrol identified the driver killed as Donald Grant Lee, who was behind the wheel of the 2008 Mini Cooper when it rolled northbound on Highway 52 near milepost 97.
The crash happened at 6:17 p.m. Monday along northbound Highway 52, between the Goodhue County Road 24 exit and the Highway 19 interchange, according to State Patrol records relayed by KROC-AM News. The passenger, identified as Constance Joan Lee, also 70 and of Eagan, suffered life-threatening injuries and was transported to a medical facility in Cannon Falls, the same report states. CBS News reported that the driver lost control and rolled the vehicle into the median ditch before he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Dry Roads, No Airbags, and a Multi-Agency Response
Emergency personnel from Cannon Falls Police, Cannon Falls Fire, Cannon Falls Ambulance, and the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office all responded to the scene, per the Minnesota State Patrol's Rochester District report. The State Patrol is investigating what caused the vehicle to lose control; alcohol was not reported as a factor, and the exact cause remains unclear.
Both Donald and Constance Lee were wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash, according to the reporting relayed by KROC-AM News. That detail carries extra weight this week, since the crash landed squarely inside a statewide enforcement push around belt use.
Crash Lands During Statewide Seat Belt Enforcement Week
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety is running a statewide extra enforcement campaign for seat belt and child passenger safety from September 20 through September 26, funded through a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration grant. The timing underscores a broader safety message even in a crash where both occupants were properly restrained. An observational survey conducted in 2024 found that 94.7 percent of occupants on Minnesota roads wear seat belts, though unbelted crashes still account for a disproportionate share of fatal outcomes, the department reports.
State data released by the Office of Traffic Safety in June showed that unbelted motorists accounted for 31 traffic fatalities, or 35 percent of all traffic deaths in Minnesota during the early months of 2026, as Hoodline previously reported on a rollover death. Historical crash data from 2017 to 2021 shows unbelted vehicle occupants made up 52 percent of all vehicle occupant deaths statewide over that five-year span, according to legal research cited in that same coverage. Minnesota has a seat-belt law, with violators facing a $25 base fine plus court surcharges.
Crash Investigation Continues
The Cannon Falls crash remains under investigation as officials continue trying to determine why Lee's Mini Cooper left the roadway. No further updates on Constance Lee's condition or the cause of the crash have been released.
