Woman dies after Bench Street crash

A Red Wing woman died Wednesday after the vehicle she was riding in collided with another vehicle at the intersection of Bench Street and South Tyler Road, the Red Wing Police Department reported.

Ardith Latchham, 89, 434 W. Fourth Street, was a passenger in a 2003 Buick being driven by her husband, Charles Latchham, 86.

At around 2 p.m., their vehicle was southbound on Bench Street and began making a left turn onto Flueger Court. As it turned, the vehicle was struck in the passenger side door by a northbound 2007 Mercury driven by Ernest Lund, 60, of Oakdale, Minn., the Red Wing Fire Department reported.

Both Ardith and Charles Latchham were transported by Red Wing Ambulance to Fairview Red Wing Medical Center, where Ardith later died.

Lund had possible injuries, though he was not transported by ambulance.

Police are investigating the cause of the accident. Charles Latchham told police he had a green arrow signal, while Lund also said he had a green light. Chief Tim Sletten said there didn’t appear to be any problems affecting the traffic lights at the time of the crash.

“We looked at the lights and they were functioning fine,” he said.

Sletten added that any witnesses to the crash should contact Red Wing police at 651-267-2600.

The Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota State Patrol also responded to the scene.

Tags: red wing, fatal accident, news, minnesota