Man Dies After Driving into Horseshoe Lake

On Thursday night at 8:32 P.M., the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from a watercraft operator reporting a vehicle that was in the Horseshoe Lake and it was believed there was a person inside. The caller said it was near the bridge, in the 2000 Block of Edgeton Road in Munson Township – about four miles south of Richmond.

Stearns County Deputies and Cold Spring/Richmond Police Officers arrived and quickly entered the water to assist the citizens in extricating 23-year-old Tate William Lehnen of Rice from the vehicle. Deputies and officers quickly brought Lehnen to shore and started performing lifesaving measures. Eden Valley Rescue and Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service arrived shortly after and continued lifesaving interventions. Lehnen was pronounced deceased by paramedics.

Members of the Stearns/Benton Dive team were also deployed to check for any other possible passengers. It’s believed the 2012 Chevrolet Impala Lehnen was driving was traveling eastbound on Edgeton Road when it overcorrected in a left-hand curve, crossed over the oncoming lane, and drove into the steep ditch leading to Horseshoe Lake.

Lehnen was later transported to the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office. The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Stearns/Benton Dive Team, Cold Spring/Richmond Police Department, Minnesota State Patrol, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Eden Valley Fire and Rescue, and Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service.