A Grand Marais couple, Ken Lovaas, 84, and Fern Lovaas, 81, escaped serious injury when their vehicle went into the ditch after another vehicle hit them while attempting to pass near the Hall Road in Lutsen just before 11 a.m. on January 11.
According to Minnesota State Patrol, both vehicles were traveling west when Jeremy Kakegamic, 20, of Thunder Bay, attempted to pass in his 2003 Dodge Ram pickup. He apparently misjudged his passing distance and hit the rear of Lovaas’s 2012 Buick Lacrosse. The road was slippery and the couple’s car spun into the ditch on the upper side.
Kakegamic went off the road on the lakeside of the highway.
Because the Lovaas vehicle was on its side, the Lutsen Fire Department was paged to assist Cook County Ambulance with getting the couple out of the car. The fire department removed the windshield to extricate them.
Both were transported to North Shore Hospital by Cook County Ambulance where they were evaluated and released. Both were wearing seatbelts and the car’s side airbags deployed. Their vehicle suffered extensive damage.
Kakegamic refused medical treatment. His pickup had moderate damage to the right front. Kakegamic was issued a citation for unsafe passing.
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