UPDATE: Second Person Dies In Two-Car Crash In Beltrami County

A second person has died as the result of a two-car crash in Beltrami County on Monday, May 27 that also claimed the life of a Bemidji man.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol, 73-year-old Margaret Porter of Bemidji died at a Fargo hospital after a head-on collision on Highway 2.

On Monday at around 11:08 p.m. a Subaru Forester, driven Margaret Porter was traveling the wrong direction in the 6200 block of Highway 2 near Pete’s Place West when it crashed head on with a Pontiac G6 driven by 21-year-old Athena Stanek of Fosston.

A passenger in the Subaru Forester, 82-year-old Russell Porter of Bemidji, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, Margaret Porter, was transported to Sanford Hospital in Fargo where she later died.

The driver of the Pontiac G6, Athena Stanek, was transported to Sanford Medical Center in Bemidji with non-life threatening injuries and later released. The Minnesota State Patrol reports that road conditions were dry at the time of the crash and alcohol is not believed to have been a factor. All three individuals involved were wearing a seat belt.

The Minnesota State Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Medical Services.