A two-vehicle accident on Highway 61 near the Lutsen Sea Villas sent one man to the hospital on Saturday, February 15 and tied up traffic on Highway 61 for nearly an hour.
The accident occurred when a white 2000 Ford F-150 pick-up, owned by Lutsen Resort and driven by Joseph Hopf, 42, of Lutsen, attempted to make a left turn onto Sea Villa Drive. Hopf turned in front of a Chrysler Sebring convertible, driven by Alex Woytcke, 19, of Blaine, MN. Woytcke was unable to stop and the Chrysler crashed into the front driver’s side of the pick-up.
Neither Woytcke nor his passenger in the Sebring was injured. Hopf was also uninjured, but his passenger, Matthew VanHolbeck, 40, of Lutsen suffered non-life-threatening injuries. He was transported to Cook County North Shore Hospital by Cook County Ambulance where he was treated and released.
According to the Minnesota State Patrol, both vehicles were totaled. They were towed from the scene by Cook County Towing.
Trooper Aaron Schmidt said it was snowing heavily at the time of the accident, but said it was a secondary factor to the crash. A citation was issued to Hopf for failure to yield.
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