Head-On Collision on Highway 52 in Inver Grove Heights Claims Life of 80-Year-Old Driver
INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, MINNESOTA: A head-on crash on northbound Highway 52 at 80th Street in Inver Grove Heights resulted in the death of an 80-year-old Cottage Grove woman Tuesday night, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.
Authorities say the crash occurred at approximately 9:54 p.m. on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, when a 2007 Saturn Vue, driven by Phillis Lucille Deboth, 80, of Cottage Grove, entered the northbound lanes of Highway 52 traveling southbound. The Saturn collided with a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado traveling north in the proper lanes near the 80th Street interchange.
Emergency responders from the Inver Grove Heights Police and Fire Departments, M Health EMS, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation arrived at the scene shortly after the crash.
Deboth, who was not wearing a seat belt, sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. The State Patrol report notes that she was unrestrained at the time of the crash.
The driver of the Silverado, identified as a 60-year-old male from Birchwood, Wisconsin, was transported to Regions Hospital in St. Paul with non-life-threatening injuries. Both vehicles’ airbags deployed upon impact.
Road conditions at the time of the crash were reported as wet, though it is unclear whether weather played a role in the collision.
Written By: Will Wight
