ROSE CREEK – A fatal accident claimed the life of an Austin woman on Friday afternoon.

Sunday, June 03, 2001

ROSE CREEK – A fatal accident claimed the life of an Austin woman on Friday afternoon.

The accident that killed Esther Mary Holte, 90, occurred 1.3 miles east of Rose Creek on Highway 56 near the Mower County No. 52 intersection.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol, Roger W. Bliese, 72, of Austin, was driving a passenger automobile westbound on Highway 56 during a rain shower when the vehicle crossed the center line and struck an eastbound pickup truck head-on.

Bliese and his wife, Mary Ann, 69, were injured and taken to Austin Medical Center by a Gold Cross Ambulance Service crew.

Holte, a rear-seat passenger in the Bliese vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the pickup truck, Donald B. Williams, 50, of Apple Valley, also was injured and taken to Austin Medical Center.

Adams and Austin fire rescue crews assisted at the scene as well as the Rose Creek Volunteer Fire Department.

The Mower County Sheriff’s Department assisted the state patrol’s investigation.

Funeral arrangements for Holte are pending at Clasen-Jordan Mortuary in Austin.

Call Lee Bonorden at 434-2232 or e-mail him at lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com.