Man dies in two-vehicle crash

A Minnesota man died in a two-vehicle accident shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday in Wahpeton, N.D., according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol.

Michael C. Oien, 53, Rothsay, died at the scene of the accident. He was a passenger in a Ford driven by Steven D. Ackert, 56, Rothsay.

The patrol said the Ackert vehicle was northbound on a Wahpeton street when it failed to stop at a stop sign at the junction of Fourth Street North and Highway 210 and struck a westbound 2005 International driven by Marilyn K. Von Ahlefeldt, 53, Wahpeton.

Oien, who was not wearing a seat belt, was partially ejected.

Ackert was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol at the scene. He was injured and taken by ambulance to St. Francis Hospital, Breckenridge, Minn., then transported by Life Flight to MeritCare, Fargo. He was not wearing a seat belt, the patrol said.

Von Ahlefeldt was wearing a seat belt and was not injured.

The International was a sugar beet truck that lost part of its load on Highway 210. Wreckers and snowplow trucks were used to clear the road.

The 1999 Ford driven by Ackert was totaled. Damage was sustained to the driver’s side of the International; the patrol did not give an estimate.

The crash is under investigation.

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