By Sarah Stultz and Kelli Lageson

A man is in serious condition after spending 6 1/2 hours in a frigid creek north of Albert Lea in his automobile. He had to be airlifted to a Rochester hospital after authorities found him.

An eastbound tan 2004 four-door Buick Park Avenue driven by Lyndon Schewe, 53, of Owatonna, left the roadway of Interstate 90 just west the Minnesota Highway 13 exit around 6:30 a.m. He was not discovered in icy Wedge Creek until about 1 p.m.

The creek runs perpendicular to the interstate and a long gravel driveway on the side  of the freeway that connects to School Section Lake properties.

Schewe was airlifted via Mayo One to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester at about 1:45 p.m. after being extricated from his Buick.

Authorities stated Schewe had a bruised arm and was cold. His other injuries were unknown, but the Minnesota State Patrol stated the injuries were not life-threatening.

St. Marys Hospital this morning lists him in serious condition.

What caused the crash or how Schewe ended up in the creek has not been released. It is unclear whether the car crashed over the bridge or somehow otherwise careened off the hill.

The State Patrol listed the crash as a rollover.

According to the State Patrol, the son of a nearby homeowner found the man in his crashed car and called 911. Items from the car — a tire, packs of Camel Lights, shattered glass — were scattered on the nearby hillside.

The Minnesota State Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office, the Albert Lea and Manchester fire departments and Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea ambulance crews.

Look to the Tribune for more information as it becomes available.