Crashes Reported in the Media

[beedawg]

Beedawgy, look again at the text I posted.  They are listed.

I figured I was missing it, which is why I wrote "I'm not seeing where the report mentions what types of bikes were involved."  I hoped you'd point it out to me.

A "2001 YAMAHA MOTORCYCLE" could be a sportbike, a  cruiser, a scooter, or a dual sport.

A "2006 SUZUKI MOTORCYCLE" could be a sportbike, a  cruiser, a scooter, or a dual sport.

[Vander]

You forgot SUMOs, Brent.... 

[pkpk]

LOL, well you got me there Brent.  My assumption that anyone in SW MN would be either riding an HD or Victory and would not be caught dead riding an imported cruiser.

[aschendel]

I'd like a media report on what happened down in West Albany, MN (google map) late Saturday night.  I was riding back from Hammond / Millville maybe about midnight or so and (right after I thought I was going to get u-turned on and profiled) got passed by a cop, 2(!) ambulances, and a cop truck all lit up like Christmas.  i followed them for a few miles to what looked like a campground or maybe a bar or something.  it was quite aways off the main road so i didn't want to wander past, but it sure looked interesting.

a.s.

[beedawg]

You forgot SUMOs, Brent.... 

I didn't forget 'em.  I left them off the list because they're not real motorcycles!

 

Totally in jest, as I'm sure you know.

[Duc Man]

You forgot SUMOs, Brent.... 

I didn't forget 'em.  I left them off the list because they're not real motorcycles!

 

Totally in jest, as I'm sure you know.

I hate you....

[Hope2Ride]

4 BIKES 8 PEOPLE TRAVELING WB HWY 14 ENTRANCE RAMP TO HWY 169 SB. TRAFFIC SLOWING AT BOTTOM OF THE RAMP. ALL 4 DRIVERS LOST CONTROL AND TIPPED BIKES OVER ATTEMPTING TO AVOID COLLISION.

what 4 bikes ?? all laid it down avoiding slowing traffic ?? wow, ...

No kidding! All four of them had no other choice but to lay the bikes down? Something is very wrong with that picture. Without knowing what actually happened I'm guessing that thier first mistake was they were all following way to close.

[beedawg]

I know this ramp pretty well.  It on my most common route home from Wisconsin.  I usually get stoked for it because by the time I get to Mankato, I've ridden almost 100 miles without a curve of more than about 10 degrees, and it bums me out when someone jumps in front of me at the last second. 

Anyway, it's a downhill, decreasing radius ramp.  The decreasing radius curve combined with the fact that some people don't seem to be able to see the oncoming traffic until they're about to merge (even though you're facing the southbound 169 traffic about 1/4 of the way down the ramp) means that most people slow down at the end of the ramp.  It's easy to imagine someone panicking and braking too hard.  Most people probably don't practice braking while leaned over and going downhill with a passenger.

[Hope2Ride]

it's a downhill, decreasing radius ramp.  The decreasing radius curve combined with the fact that some people don't seem to be able to see the oncoming traffic until they're about to merge

So it's downhill, decreasing radius and difficult to see the exit (if I'm understanding you correctly). Wouldn't that be good enough reason enough to slow down and keep your distance from someone in front of you?

BTW I'm not trying to criticize, I wish more information was provided about these accidents. It is interesting to read these "stories" and try to piece together what might have happened and how it might have been avoided. It's always less painful to learn from others mistakes.

[beedawg]

It's only difficult to see the exit from the entrance because you have to turn your head.   

This is a right-hand, 270-degree cloverleaf.  Downhill, decreasing radius.  No good reason to look to the exit until you're halfway through the turn.  The point I tried to make is that shortly after you enter the ramp, you are looking north, toward the traffic that you will be merging with.  It shouldn't be hard for people to look ahead and find a spot to merge into, but it is.  There might have a person braking hard at the bottom of the ramp and an accordion-like reaction back to the riders.

And who practices hard braking while leaned over, anyway?  Probably not everyone.  It was part of the old ERC, but in the current one, it's "Straighten, then brake."

[pkpk]

http://www.startribune.com/local/157016925.html

Driver accused of passing at 95 mph, killing 2 on motorcycle in Sherburne Co.

    Article by: PAUL WALSH , Star Tribune
    Updated: June 4, 2012 - 2:38 PM

A 19-year-old motorist was accused Monday of passing on a Sherburne County highway at nearly 100 miles per hour when he hit and killed two people on a motorcycle heading in the other direction, authorities said.

Cody Moen, of Monticello, Minn., was arrested on suspicion of driving his car in a "grossly negligent manner," according Sheriff's Capt. Scott Fildes.

Fildes said that Moen will be charged Tuesday and arraigned in District Court in connection with the crash on the afternoon of April 18 on County Road 17, just south of Hwy. 10, in Big Lake Township.

Killed were motorcyclist Brien Wickham, 31, of Big Lake, Minn., and passenger Jacquelyn Lee, 26, of Ramsey.

According to Fildes:

Moen was heading north on Hwy. 17 at 95 miles per hour, when he went onto the right shoulder to pass a vehicle ahead of him. He lost control and entered the southbound lanes, where he collided with the motorcycle.

At the spot where Moen was passing, the highway was one lane in each direction. At the point of impact, it was a four-lane highway.

Wickham died at the scene, while Lee died later after being airlifted to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale.

Moen was treated at a hospital for injuries at the time and released.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482

[beedawg]

Minneota Township crash results in fatality

JACKSON — Michelle Engelkes, 38, of Sheldon, Iowa, died Monday in a Sioux Falls, S.D. hospital after being injured in a motorcycle crash Saturday night east of Little Spirit Lake in Minneota Township.According to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, a report of a one-vehicle motorcycle crash came into dispatch shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday regarding a crash on Jackson County 4 near 480th Street.

Brian Engelkes and his wife Michelle were westbound when their 2011 Harley Davidson entered the north ditch and struck a driveway embankment.

Both husband and wife were ejected from the motorcycle, and neither were wearing helmets.
Both were taken to Lakes Regional Hospital in Spirit Lake, Iowa, via ambulance and were later air-lifted to Avera McKennan in Sioux Falls.

Michelle died from her injuries Monday, and 35-year-old Brian was still listed in critical condition as of Tuesday afternoon.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office was assisted on the scene by Lakefield Fire and Ambulance and Lakes Regional Hospital Ambulance.

The incident remains under investigation.

http://www.dglobe.com/event/article/id/57539/

[beedawg]

Man involved in motorcycle crash succumbs to injuries

JACKSON — A motorcycle crash that occurred Saturday has claimed a second victim. Brian Engelkes, 35, of Sheldon, Iowa, died Wednesday, two days after his wife, Michelle, succumbed to her injuries.

According to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, a report of a one-vehicle motorcycle accident came into dispatch shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday. The crash happened on Jackson County 4 near 480th Street, east of Little Spirit Lake in Minneota Township. Brian and his wife, 38-year-old Michelle Engelkes, were westbound when their 2011 Harley Davidson entered the north ditch and struck a driveway embankment. Both husband and wife were ejected from the motorcycle. Neither one was wearing a helmet.

Both were taken to Lakes Regional Hospital in Spirit Lake, Iowa, via ambulance and were later airlifted to Avera McKennan in Sioux Falls. Michelle died Monday at the hospital, while Brian was still listed in critical condition as of Tuesday afternoon. He died Wednesday morning.

A joint visitation for the couple will be from 1 to 8 p.m. Friday, with the family present from 6 to 8 p.m., at Andringa Funeral Home Sheldon Funeral Service. Their service notices can be found on A2.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office was assisted on the scene by Lakefield Fire and Ambulance and Lakes Regional Hospital Ambulance. The incident remains under investigation.

http://www.dglobe.com/event/article/id/57567/publisher_ID/24/

[pkpk]

Charges: Duel by 2 speeding cars led to Sherburne County crash killing 2 on motorcycle

    Article by: PAUL WALSH , Star Tribune
    Updated: June 5, 2012 - 6:35 PM

Having just been passed by a sporty black car on a Sherburne County road, Cody Moen revved his car's engine even higher, closed in tightly on the other vehicle and then zipped onto the gravel shoulder.

But the high-speed attempt to regain the lead turned tragic, according to charges filed Tuesday, and Moen's car spun off of the gravel along County Road 17 in Big Lake Township, crossed the northbound lanes, a median and into the path of a motorcycle heading south.

The bike hit Moen's car on that clear mid-April afternoon this year, killing motorcyclist Brien Wickham, 31, of Big Lake, and passenger Jacquelyn Lee, 26, of Ramsey.

Moen, 19, of Big Lake, was charged Tuesday in District Court with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide or operation and remains jailed.

His driving record includes tickets in the past two years in Minnesota for careless driving, speeding and reckless driving with a willful or wanton disregard for safety. He was on probation from the reckless driving conviction at the time of the deadly crash.

Based on interviews with several witnesses and a county crash reconstruction investigator, the Sheriff's Office said in the criminal complaint:

A Cadillac heading north on County Road 17 at 60 miles per hour was passed by a 30-year-old man driving a black sports car. Moen, driving a maroon Dodge Intrepid and following the sports car "at a close distance," also passed the Cadillac.

The pair repeated the same maneuver in the 55 mph zone, this time at a speed the second slower motorist estimated at up to 90 mph.

Moments later, Moen tried to overtake the black sports car at 95 mph, veered from the shoulder, across the northbound lanes and through the grassy median. Now in the southbound lanes, Moen was struck by the southbound motorcycle.

The Cadillac driver stopped and noted that Moen was "freaking out" near the wreckage.

Wickham died at the scene, while Lee died later after being airlifted to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale. Moen was treated at a hospital for injuries at the time and released.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482

[pkpk]

St. Paul motorcyclist admits striking 4-year-old boy

    Article by: Associated Press
    Updated: June 5, 2012 - 6:27 PM

ST. PAUL, Minn. - A 25-year-old St. Paul man has admitted striking a 4-year-old boy on his motorcycle in a hit-and-run last month.

WCCO-AM (http://cbsloc.al/Lxd1bm) reports Ernest Jonas pleaded guilty Tuesday in Ramsey County to two counts of criminal vehicular operation.

Police say Tyrell Baymon was critically injured when Jonas hit him on May 19. Baymon was holding his mother's hand as the family was heading to Como Park to celebrate his birthday.

The boy's skull was fractured, leaving him unconscious in a hospital bed. He is now awake and listed in fair condition.

Sentencing for Jonas is set for Aug. 6.