McLeod County, MN — January 6, 2026, Melinda Koosman was killed in a truck accident at about 8:30 a.m. on State Highway 7 north of Lester Prairie.

Authorities said a westbound Hyundai Santa Fe and an eastbound Freightliner straight truck collided on the icy highway near Cable Avenue.

Hyundai driver Melinda Koosman, 63, of Buffalo was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to authorities.

The truck driver was not injured, authorities said.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the McLeod County crash at this time. The accident is still under investigation.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When people hear about a deadly crash between a straight truck and a passenger vehicle on an icy Minnesota highway, the immediate reaction is often: “Was it just the weather?” But from a legal perspective, that’s only the starting point, not the conclusion.

Yes, ice can make driving dangerous, but how the two vehicles came to collide head-on still matters. Right now, we don’t know whether one vehicle slid into the other’s lane, or if one driver made a dangerous maneuver. And until that detail is clarified, we can’t begin to understand whether this was a no-fault incident, or if someone failed in their duty to operate safely given the conditions.

If the straight truck lost control, that raises several critical questions. Was the driver speeding for the conditions? Was the truck equipped with the right tires for icy roads? Did the company have any protocols in place to assess road safety before dispatching its drivers? A commercial vehicle isn’t like a personal car; it’s heavier, takes longer to stop and requires far more judgment to operate safely in bad weather.

That’s why a serious truck crash investigation must go well beyond a police report. For example, we’d want to know if the truck had in-cab cameras or engine control module (ECM) data that could show the driver’s speed, braking and steering in the moments before the crash. We’d also want to look at cell phone records to rule out distraction, and check the driver’s training and history to see if they’d been involved in previous weather-related crashes. All of these are pieces of a puzzle that help tell the full story.

In one of my past cases, a trucking company hired a driver who had failed multiple road tests and had been fired from several jobs. Yet they still put him behind the wheel. After he caused a deadly wreck, the evidence showed the company’s hiring decisions were just as much to blame as the driver’s mistakes. That’s why I never stop at just looking at what happened at the scene. I want to know what decisions — by the driver or the company — set that crash in motion before the truck even left the lot.

At this stage, the public doesn’t have access to those answers. But the right investigation, focused on technology, training and policy, can bring them to light.

Key Takeaways:

• It’s unclear from current reports which vehicle lost control or crossed the center line.
• Icy roads may be a factor, but legal responsibility depends on how each driver responded to those conditions.
• Black box data, in-cab cameras and cell phone records are crucial for determining what really happened.
• Trucking company policies, like dispatch decisions and driver training, may also play a role.
• Full accountability requires looking beyond the scene to understand all contributing factors.