3 motorcyclists killed in 10-hour span on Minnesota roads

MINNEAPOLIS — Three motorcyclists were killed in separate crashes on Minnesota roads Thursday in a 10-hour span, including two high-speed fatalities just 30 minutes apart on Interstate 35.

The first crash happened at about 2 p.m. near the Shingle Creek Crossing shopping mall in Brooklyn Center. Police say the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Minnesota State Patrol says the second crash occurred at about 11:35 p.m. on Interstate 35 near Elko-New Market. The 20-year-old victim rear-ended his Suzuki into an SUV "while negotiating lane splits," the state patrol says. He was also pronounced dead at the scene. Two men in the SUV suffered minor injuries.

About a half-hour later and 30 miles north, a 23-year-old woman crashed a Suzuki on Interstate 35W in Minneapolis. The state patrol says the victim, from Minneapolis, was heading southbound at an "elevated speed" when she crashed into a guardrail near the Hennepin Avenue exit just after midnight. She was pronounced dead at Hennepin Healthcare.

The state patrol says it's unknown at this time if alcohol was involved in the two interstate crashes.

The state patrol says 69 people died in motorcycle crashes in 2023, with 15 deaths reported by this time last year. The latest state data has numbers through May, with 11 reported motorcycle deaths.