A pickup truck driver from southern Minnesota was fatally hit by a train in North Dakota, authorities said.

The collision occurred about 1:45 p.m. Saturday roughly 1½ miles west of Des Lacs in northwestern North Dakota, according to the Highway Patrol.

The motorist, Robert Bowman, a 74-year-old man from Hollandale, was dead at the scene, the patrol said. His identity has yet to be released.

The driver had been working at a combining operation at a nearby farm, according to the patrol.

The eastbound BNSF train hit the pickup as the driver was heading south on 198th Street NW. at a marked crossing, dragging the truck for a mile until the train could stop, the patrol said.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482