Fog leads to fatal crash in Dodge County

A West Concord woman was killed in a bizarre crash involving foggy conditions in Dodge County Dec. 30.

Sheriff Scott Rose identified the victim as Scarlett Tanner, 32, of West Concord. She was driving a 2019 Toyota Highlander and died at the scene of the crash on Dodge County Road 24 east of 120^th Avenue around 7:46 a.m.

However, it wasn’t the initial crash that killed Tanner. As she was standing outside her vehicle after being involved in a head-on crash, she was run down by a truck and trailer that tried to avoid hitting the crash scene by going into the ditch.

Rose said Tanner and a passerby identified as Erin Brose, 46, of Dodge Center, who stopped to assist with the initial crash were outside their vehicles when a truck and trailer operated by Ryan Thoe, 47, of Kasson, hit them. Tanner was pronounced dead at the scene while Brose was transported to a hospital in Rochester with life-threatening injuries, according to Rose.

Emergency crews had requested Mayo One to the scene for Brose, but the medical helicopter could not fly because of weather conditions, Rose said.

Also involved in the initial crash was Elizabeth Albers, 40, of Owatonna. She was driving a 2017 Ford Expedition that collided head-on with the Tanner vehicle just east of the curve on CR 24 before it intersects with 120^th Avenue. Albers was transported to a hospital in Owatonna with non-life-threatening injuries, Rose said.

The sheriff said extremely dense fog and icy road conditions were a primary factor in the crash. He said preliminary investigations show this crash involved an unbelted motorist, which significantly increased the severity of injuries.

“The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office reminds all motorists to buckle up while in a motor vehicle and slow down during foggy and/or icy conditions,” Rose said.

Assisting at the scene were West Concord Fire and Ambulance, Claremont Fire and First Responders, Dodge Center Fire, Dodge Center Ambulance, Minnesota State Patrol, Minnesota State Patrol Commercial Vehicle Inspectors, Dodge County Highway Department, Dodge County Sheriff Chaplains, and Mayo Ambulance.