Freeborn County’s first traffic fatality for 2009 came this morning.

Initial reports from the Minnesota State Patrol indicate an automobile rolled over at milepost 8 of Minnesota Highway 13, just north of Manchester. The report says the road conditions were icy.

The State Patrol report said the rollover happened at 6:23 a.m.

Assisting at the accident scene was the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office.

The report says only a single vehicle was involved in the incident.

Few details are available regarding the fatality and the name of the person who died in the rollover has not been released.

Traffic fatalities

Freeborn County saw the highest number of traffic fatalities in at least five years during 2008 with 14 deaths from car wrecks on the roads and interstates that criss-cross the county.

In 2007 there were two fatalities; in 2006 there were six; in 2004 there were eight; and in 2005 there were four, according to Freeborn County records.

The people who died in 2008 ranged in age from a 3-year-old girl to an 84-year-old man.

Local authorities have said they hope to reduce traffic fatalities in 2009.