Man, 33, dies after crashing motorcycle into sound wall on Interstate 94

MINNEAPOLIS — Authorities say a 33-year-old man from Lakeville died in a motorcycle crash Saturday evening on Interstate 94.

According to a crash report from the Minnesota State Patrol, at 6:23 p.m., the motorcyclist was taking the Riverside exit off eastbound I-94 when he went onto the grassy apex, lost control and struck the sound wall.

The motorcyclist, identified as William Lyons, was transported to Hennepin Healthcare, where he died.

Lyons had not been wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, the report says. It is unknown if alcohol was a factor in the crash.

The state patrol says 69 people died in motorcycle crashes in 2023.

Next summer, a new law will take effect allowing motorcyclists to share lanes with vehicles, known as "lane splitting" or "lane filtering" in hopes of making the method of transportation safer.

"It's really only going to be happening in bumper-to-bumper or slow-moving traffic, and in those situations when motorcyclists are forced to stay in their own lane, oftentimes get rear-ended and injured, so this is actually safer," Jed Duncan, founder of Ride Academy, said.