News Briefs: Teen dies after running red light in Dickinson

Editor's note: The following is a collection of news briefs from Forum Communications Company newspapers in North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

North Dakota

Teen dies after running red light

DICKINSON, N.D. -- A 17-year-old Dickinson resident died in a three-vehicle accident after going through a red light on N.D. Highway 22 in Dickinson on Thursday morning, according law enforcement.

The juvenile, whose name had not released been Thursday, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A Pontiac, driven by a 17-year-old, was traveling south on Highway 22, also known as Third Avenue West, and went through a red light, striking a Hummer driven by Catherine Riddick of Dickinson, according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol.

The Pontiac was then pushed into a pickup driven by John Barrett of Westminster, Colo.

Riddick was not injured. Barrett was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital for a medical evaluation, according to the Highway Patrol.

The accident was reported to the Dickinson Police Department at 6:10 a.m.

Two killed when vehicle hits tree

DEVILS LAKE, N.D. -- Two men from Kentucky were killed overnight Wednesday when a vehicle struck a tree in the city of Devils Lake.

Names of the victims, ages 23 and 31, were being withheld until notification of next of kin.

Police and other emergency units responded to the call about midnight.

According to the report, the vehicle was southbound on N.D. Highway 20, also known as College Drive, near the intersection of U.S. Highway 2, when it left the roadway, struck the tree and rolled onto its side.

Both victims were found dead at the scene. Two other occupants were transported to Mercy Hospital in Devils Lake, where they were treated and released. The injured occupants also are from Kentucky, according to the report.

Minnesota

Four killed in crash identified

ASKOV, Minn. -- Authorities have identified the four people killed Tuesday evening in a collision between a pickup truck and a semitrailer in Pine County.

The Pine County Sheriff's Office reported that the victims, all from Askov, were Arden Edwards, 58; Brett Larson, 21; Catherine Peterson, 20; and Felicity Jensen, 17.

A 20-year-old man was transported to a hospital and is in critical condition, the Sheriff's Office reported. His name has not yet been released.

All five were in a pickup truck that turned in front of the semitrailer about a mile east of Askov about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, deputies said.

Some of the victims were related, Pine County Chief Sheriff Deputy Steven Blackwell said.

Two of the four people who died were riding in the open bed of the pickup, Blackwell said.

State Patrol Lt. Eric Roeske said Minnesota law prohibits children covered by safety seat laws from riding in the back of pickup and no one of any age can ride in a pickup bed if a seat up front is unoccupied. Neither restriction applied in this crash.

There was no indication alcohol was involved in the crash, he said.

Woman pleads guilty to stealing from employer

BEMIDJI, Minn. – A former employee of Beltrami Industrial Services has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $380,000 from the company.

Suzanne Marie Lofgren, 50, of Bemidji, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Beltrami County District Court to felony theft-diverting corporate property. Sentencing was set for Oct. 15.

According to court documents, Lofgren had been employed for 11 years by Beltrami Industrial Services of Solway. As office manager, she had authority to issue checks and make payments on behalf of the business.

“Lofgren had attained a significant position of trust and authority within the corporation,” the criminal complaint states.

An investigation found that Lofgren stole $381,689.19 from the company between Jan. 23, 2007, and Oct. 24, 2011, for her personal use.

The company terminated Lofgren after learning of the theft.

Outing man receives five-year prison term

WALKER, Minn. – A 50-year-old Outing man was sentenced this week in Cass County District Court after pleading guilty to second-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Roger Lynn Knode was ordered to spend five years in prison for having sexual contact with a person under age 13.

In addition, Knode was ordered to pay a $10,500 fine, spend 10 years on conditional release and register as a predatory offender for life, according to a news release from the Cass County Attorney’s Office.

Previously, Knode has been convicted twice for criminal sexual conduct.

The Cass County Attorney’s Office said Knode will be reviewed for civil commitment as a sexually dangerous or sexual psychopathic personality.

O.J.’s ex angles for drug court

MOORHEAD, Minn. – The ex-girlfriend of O.J. Simpson who was set to plead guilty to burglary and drug possession charges Thursday in Clay County District Court has instead decided to try to have her case transferred to drug court.

If the case is accepted by the drug court screener, Christie Prody, 37, could begin chemical dependency treatment even before entering her guilty pleas, according to her defense attorney and the county prosecutor.

Prody is accused of stealing prescription pills on two separate occasions from a Moorhead couple while working as an in-home nursing assistant. She was charged April 9 with two counts each of second-degree burglary, theft and fifth-degree drug possession.

Prody was scheduled to enter pleas Thursday to one count each of burglary and drug possession. Instead, the plea hearing was continued until early October to allow time for the drug court evaluation.

Prody was a waitress in Los Angeles when she met Simpson in 1996, the year after he was acquitted of the murders of his ex-wife and friend. They dated for 13 years.

Wisconsin

Motorcyclist drives off washed-out road

SUPERIOR, Wis. -- A 75-year-old Superior man remained in critical condition Thursday after driving his motorcycle into a watery gully Wednesday night.

Jack E. Povaser was unconscious and wasn’t breathing when officers arrived about 8:40 p.m. near the bridge to Barker’s Island, Superior police said.

A witness told police that he saw a motorcycle being driven northbound on Marina Drive and being maneuvered slowly between barricades that blocked a washout caused by June flooding, police said in a news release.

When the witness didn’t see the motorcycle shortly after, he walked over and saw the driver and motorcycle in the creek at the gully’s bottom and called 911, police said.

Povaser was given CPR on the scene and then was taken to Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center.

Ultra-light pilot injured in crash

NEW RICHMOND, Wis -- One man was hospitalized following an ultra-light crash at New Richmond Regional Airport Thursday morning.

Emergency crews were dispatched to the shore of Hatfield Lake about 10 a.m. Thursday.

According to Airport Manager Mike Demulling, it appears an ultra-light was attempting to take off from the airport when it failed to gain enough power and crashed into the brush along the shore of the lake.

The pilot, whose name had not been released Thursday, was injured in the crash. He was taken to Regions Hospital in the Twin Cities for treatment.

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