Longtime physician killed in hit-and-run crash near Mille Lacs Lake
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A longtime family practice physician died Monday afternoon after she was struck by a vehicle while walking along U.S. Highway 169 near Mille Lacs Lake.
Authorities say the driver fled the scene.
The Minnesota State Patrol identified the victim as 56-year-old Cathy Donovan of Onamia, Minn. The Patrol said she was walking along northbound Highway 169 just before 5 p.m. Monday when she was hit.
Mille Lacs Tribal Police asked for the public’s help in finding the suspect vehicle. They asked people to be on the lookout for vehicles with significant front-end damage — but did not offer further identifying information.
Donovan was a family practice physician at the Mille Lacs Health System for the past 27 years, said spokesperson Marilyn Phillips.
“We’re just reeling,” Phillips said Tuesday.
Donovan was a “wonderful person” and deeply involved in the health system’s hospital and clinics, Phillips said. Employees are being offered grief counseling through the employee assistance program.
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