Two teens seriously injured in Otter Tail County crash near Deer Creek

A northbound Dodge Ram 1500 and a Chevy Cavalier collided at State Highway 29 and 610th Avenue near Deer Creek just after 5 p.m. Saturday, leaving two teenagers with life-threatening injuries and drawing multiple local agencies to the scene. Tanner Schulke, 18, of Verndale, and Jadyn Woida, 17, of Brandon, were both taken to Sanford Medical Center in Fargo.

The Minnesota State Patrol said the pickup was traveling north on Highway 29 when the Cavalier turned south onto the highway from 610th Avenue and the vehicles struck each other at the intersection. The pickup driver and a juvenile passenger were not injured. The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office, Wadena County Sheriff’s Office, Deer Creek Fire and Astera Ambulance all assisted at the crash scene.

For families in Verndale and Brandon, the wreck sent two teenagers from a rural Otter Tail County intersection to a Fargo hospital in critical condition. The crash also put more pressure on local responders who had to secure the intersection, assess injuries and move quickly on a scene that sits near the Deer Creek-Wadena area, where Highway 29 carries regular traffic through farm country and toward nearby towns.

Saturday’s collision adds to a troubling pattern of serious and fatal crashes in Otter Tail County in recent years. A teen was killed in a Highway 210 crash in December 2024, and another fatal pickup crash followed in May 2025. Those deaths, along with the newest serious injuries on Highway 29, have kept attention on rural road safety, especially at intersections where state highways meet county roads and drivers can have only seconds to react.

The latest wreck is another reminder of how quickly a routine drive can turn into a life-threatening emergency in Otter Tail County. At the center of it are two teenagers, two hometowns and a network of family members, classmates and first responders now dealing with the fallout.