Sheriff’s deputy strikes, kills 84-year-old man while driving to medical emergency
By WCCO Staff
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WRIGHT COUNTY, Minnesota (WCCO) — The Minnesota State Patrol is investigating a fatal accident between a Wright County sheriff’s deputy and an 84-year-old pedestrian.
According to the state patrol, a deputy in a Wright County Sheriff’s Office squad vehicle was responding to a medical emergency Thursday evening before the incident. The deputy struck a pedestrian in a driveway on the 400 block of Main Street North in St. Michael.
The pedestrian, identified as 84-year-old Harold Welter, suffered fatal injuries. Welter was a firefighter in St. Michael for 23 years.
The deputy, 37-year-old Dustin Hatzenbeller of Otsego, was not injured.
The road conditions were snowy and icy at the time of the crash.
The Wright County Sheriff’s Office requested that the state patrol investigate the incident. The sheriff’s office said Hatzenbeller has “cooperated fully” with the investigation. He is on paid administrative leave.
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