Houston County, MN crash claims New Albin teenager, injures two others

A Thursday, January 17 single-vehicle accident has claimed the life of a New Albin teenager and injured two others, according to a report from the Minnesota State Patrol. That report indicates the accident resulted in the death of 15-year-old Caleb Ryan Colsch of New Albin, who was a passenger in a 2002 Mazda Protege being driven north on Minnesota State Highway 26 by a 16-year-old male driver whose name has yet to be released by the Minnesota State Patrol due to the ongoing crash investigation involving a minor driver, according to Sgt. Troy Christianson of the Minnesota State Patrol.

The initial report further indicates that the unnamed driver lost control and the car entered the ditch, striking a tree at approximately 4:10 p.m. that Thursday afternoon near mile marker number 8 in Crooked Creek Township, just north of Reno, MN. The report also indicates that road conditions were dry at the time of the accident.

The report states that Colsch was not wearing a seat belt when the accident occurred. Both the unnamed driver and another passenger, 16-year-old Tyler Jeffrey Wild of New Albin, were reported as wearing seat belts, and both were transported from the scene to Gundersen Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, WI by ambulance. Wild was reported as having non-life threatening injuries but no report has been released in regard to any injuries sustained by the driver.

Assisting the Minnesota State Patrol at the accident scene were the Houston County, MN Sheriff’s Department, New Albin Fire Department and Ambulance, Brownsville Fire Department and Ambulance, and Tri-State Ambulance.

A full obituary for Caleb Ryan Colsch can be found on Page 3A of this week’s issue of The Standard and on the Obituaries section of this website.