Teen killed, 15-year-old driver hurt in Stearns County crash

KRAIN TOWNSHIP, Minn. (FOX 9) - A teenager was killed and another was hurt in a crash in Stearns County on Friday, authorities said. 

The fatal crash involving two teenagers happened at around 10:31 a.m. on July 21. The Stearns County Emergency Communications Center received a report about a one-vehicle crash on 248th Avenue, just north of County Road 17, in Krain Township, a news release said.

When first responders arrived at the scene, they found a severely damaged 2007 Chevrolet Impala on its side resting against a tree. Freeport Fire and Rescue performed extraction operations to remove both teens as they were trapped in the vehicle. 

The passenger, Ethan Gerads,16, of Albany, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, a 15-year-old from Freeport, was transported to the St. Cloud Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

The driver reported he had been traveling southbound on 248th Avenue when he lost control of the vehicle. He over-corrected when trying to regain control, went into the ditch and rolled over until the car was stopped by a tree. Neither the driver nor the passenger were wearing seatbelts. 

The Minnesota State Patrol is conducting an accident reconstruction and the cause of the crash remains under investigation.