An 80-year-old woman was struck and killed by a minivan Friday evening as she walked across Freeborn County Road 46 west of Albert Lea while checking her mail.

Maureen Vyonne Ruble had reportedly walked to her mailbox on the south side of the road at 72746 County 46 and was walking back to the north side when she was struck by a 2003 Chrysler Town and Country minivan, according to the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office.

The van, driven by Mary Charlotte Stoneback, 65, was traveling westbound.

The release stated Ruble was struck by the front passenger side of the vehicle.

When deputies arrived, they found Ruble lying facedown in the north ditch. She was breathing but was unresponsive.

She was transported by ambulance to the emergency room at Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea where she died from injuries she sustained in the crash.

The crash remains under investigation, but alcohol does not appear to be a factor, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Ruble was the co-facilitator of the Southern Minnesota Parkinson Disease Support Group and for the last two years has organized the Walk for Parkinson’s at Northbridge Mall.

Assisting the Sheriff’s Office was the Albert Lea Police Department, Gold Cross Ambulance and the Albert Lea Township Fire Department.