Juvenile bicyclist hurt in Otter Tail County driveway crash

Deputies are investigating a driveway crash southwest of Ottertail city after an 18-year-old Lakeville driver struck an 11-year-old girl on a bicycle near 42566 County Highway 1. The collision happened around 4 p.m. Sunday, June 29, 2026, as Ashtyn Wolf pulled out of a driveway in a Jeep and turned onto County Highway 1.

The girl had been riding in front of the driveway and was following her mother on a separate bicycle when the Jeep hit her, according to the account investigators have pieced together so far. Wolf told deputies the bicycles were hidden by trees or foliage, and she said she looked left before pulling out but did not see the child.

The child was wearing a helmet and suffered only apparent abrasions and soreness. Her family declined medical transport, and no charges have been announced. The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office is still working through the circumstances of the crash, including sight lines at the driveway and how much visibility the driver had before entering the highway.

The setting matters in a county where summer riding and rural driveways often share the same stretch of pavement. County Highway 1, like many roads around Ottertail and the lakes area, includes private driveways, roadside vegetation and vehicle traffic that can create a brief but dangerous blind spot when a car pulls out.

The crash also fits a broader safety pattern tracked by state and federal agencies. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s annual Crash Facts reports include bicycle crashes, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says bicyclists are the people most likely to be injured when a car and a bike collide. NHTSA also says bicycle helmets can reduce head and brain injury risk by as much as 85% to 88%, underscoring why the child’s helmet likely helped limit the outcome here.