Former Mayor Hit, Killed By Wright County Deputy In St. Michael

ST. MICHAEL, MN — Former St. Michael Mayor Harold Welter died Thursday after he was hit by a Wright County deputy’s SUV, according to officials.

Welter, 84, was struck Thursday night by a Wright County Sheriff’s Department deputy who was responding to a medical emergency in the 400 block of Main Street North, the Minnesota State Patrol said.

Welter was lying in an "unlit driveway" in the 400 block of North Main St when he was hit at a "slow speed," the Wright County Sheriff's Office said.

He was taken to North Memorial Medical Center in Maple Grove, where he died a short time later, police said.

City officials in a news release Sunday called Welter a “true public servant” and said the former mayor will be “greatly missed by his St. Michael community.”

Welter served on the St. Michael City Council from 1977-87 before leading the city as mayor for four years.

Welter served in the St. Michael Fire Department for 23 years and was a member of the St. Michael Lions Club for more than four decades, including four terms as president, officials said.

Welter’s funeral service is scheduled to be held Thursday at St. Michael Catholic Church, 11300 Frankfort Parkway NE, the Star Tribune reports.

The Minnesota State Patrol said it is investigating Welter’s death at the request of the Wright County Sheriff’s Department. Snow and ice were factors in the fatal crash, the State Patrol said.

The deputy driving the patrol SUV was 37-year-old Dustin Hatzenbeller, of Otsego, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

Hatzenbeller, who joined the Wright County Sheriff's Office in September 2020, is cooperating with the investigation and is on paid administrative leave, the the sheriff's office said Monday.

"The Wright County Sheriff's Office offers their deepest condolences to the family and friends of the victim," officials said in a release.