Colton Lindquist (OTCDF)
Ashby, MN – 20-year-old Colton Duane Lindquist has been sentenced to house arrest for careless driving that caused a fatal accident in rural Ashby late last year.
According to court documents, the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a pickup vs passenger vehicle crash at an intersection northwest of Ashby at around 2:10 in the afternoon on November 3rd, 2023.
When responders arrived, they discovered both vehicles in the ditch.
Lindquist was identifies as the driver of the pickup truck.
The driver of the passenger vehicle told officers that she was driving west on 100th Street when the truck came out of nowhere across the intersection.
She stated that she slammed on the brakes, but was unable to stop in time and struck the passenger side of the pickup.
Another officer spoke with Lindquist, who stated that he was driving north on 295th Avenue toward the intersection of 100th Street.
When he came to the intersection, he did not recall seeing anything and the next thing he knew was being in the ditch after impact with the other vehicle, and believed he was unconscious for a period of time.
When officers asked if he had stopped at the stop sign at the intersection, Lindquist stated that he though he did, but could not remember.
The driver of the passenger vehicle sustained non-life threatening injuries, but her passenger was life-flighted to the hospital, and was pronounced deceased as a result of the injuries sustained in the crash.
Investigators found that the acceleration data obtained from Lindquist’s pickup was not consistent with normal acceleration rates expected if the truck had made a complete stop at the stop sign.
Officials determined that the cause of the crash was his failure to yield to cross traffic.
On Monday (July 22nd) Lindquist plead guilty to Careless Driving, and will be spending two days in the Otter Tail County Detention Facility, 28 days on house arrest, and 1 year of probation.