Litchfield, MN (July 17, 2026) – Three people were hurt in a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of US Highway 12 and Minnesota Highway 24 in Litchfield on Wednesday morning, July 15. The collision was reported at 10:37 a.m.
A 2025 Chevrolet Trailblazer driven by 80-year-old Virginia Ann Evensen of Mora was making a left turn onto US-12 when it collided with a 2023 Chrysler Pacifica driven by 81-year-old Stephen Louis Mattson of Willmar, who was traveling on US-12. Mattson was not hurt in the wreck.
All three occupants of the Trailblazer were taken to Meeker Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Evensen’s passengers were 82-year-old Dee Etta Kuehn of VanCleave, Mississippi, and 85-year-old Annabell Maxine Larsen of Willmar. Airbags deployed in the Trailblazer during the accident. The crash remains under active review.
We hope all three people hurt make full recoveries.
What Happens When a Left Turn Leads to a Crash at a Highway Intersection?
Left turns across oncoming traffic are among the most common causes of intersection crashes, particularly at junctions where one road carries higher-speed through traffic. A driver turning left must judge the speed and distance of approaching vehicles before committing to the maneuver, and an error in that judgment can place the turning vehicle directly in the path of oncoming traffic. When the approaching vehicle has the right of way and is traveling at highway speed, there is very little time for either driver to avoid contact.
Airbag deployment in the turning vehicle indicates that the collision involved sufficient force to trigger the sensors designed to detect a significant impact. For older occupants, even a moderate-force crash can result in injuries that younger passengers might not sustain, since age-related changes in bone density and soft tissue resilience affect how the body absorbs impact energy. This is one reason all three passengers in the Trailblazer were transported for evaluation despite their injuries being described as non-life-threatening.
Intersections where a US highway meets a state highway can carry a wide range of vehicle speeds and traffic volumes from multiple directions. These crossings require drivers to assess several lanes of potential conflict simultaneously, which becomes more demanding as intersection complexity increases. Signal timing, visibility, and approach speed are all factors that investigators examine when a turning crash occurs at this type of junction.
