Northfield, MN (August 28, 2026) – A 16-year-old Northfield girl was injured Wednesday, August 26 evening when a Chevy Traverse turning left from northbound Highway 3 onto Highway 19 collided with her southbound Honda Civic, according to a state crash report. The wreck happened around 5:11 p.m.
Glendi Gonzalez Orrego was taken to Northfield Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries; her airbag deployed. The Traverse’s driver, a 19-year-old Minneapolis woman, was not hurt.
The circumstances remain under investigation. We hope Gonzalez Orrego has a full recovery.
Why Are Left Turns at Intersections Always a Cause of Crashes?
A left turn requires a driver to judge the speed and distance of oncoming traffic accurately before proceeding, and even a small misjudgment can put a turning vehicle directly in the path of oncoming traffic. This kind of turn carries more inherent risk than continuing straight through an intersection.
Visibility and traffic volume both affect how difficult this judgment call becomes, since a driver waiting to turn may have only a brief window to assess an approaching vehicle’s speed. Intersections without a dedicated turn signal place the full responsibility on the turning driver to time the maneuver safely.
Investigators typically examine each vehicle’s speed, signal use, and line of sight to understand how a crash like this developed. This kind of review helps establish whether visibility or a simple misjudgment played the larger role in bringing the two vehicles together.
