Albert Lea woman killed in single-vehicle rollover

(Albert Lea, MN) – An Albert Lea woman was killed in a rollover on icy roads east of Hayward last week.

Joyce Chapnek, 74, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash on Friday.

The Freeborn County Sheriff’s office says county highway workers called 911 at about 11:13 a.m. to report that a vehicle on its roof was partially submerged in a drainage ditch off County Rd 30, about a quarter-mile south of 200th St.

“The county highway department employees used their vehicle to flip the vehicle back onto its wheels,” says a release from the sheriff’s office.

No one was seen in the vehicle initially, the release said, but after it was flipped Chapnek was found buckled into the driver’s seat.  She was brought up to the road where she was pronounced dead by ambulance personnel.

Investigation determined that Chapnek lost control of her vehicle on icy road conditions and went down into the ditch on the east side of the road, rolling onto its roof.