ATV passenger killed in northern Minnesota crash

BALKAN TOWNSHIP, Minn. — A passenger on an ATV was killed in a crash on a northern Minnesota trail Saturday afternoon, and the driver was briefly hospitalized.

The crash happened around 3:40 p.m. on a trail in Balkan Township, according to the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office.

Responding deputies found a side-by-side ATV that had rolled. The passenger, a 31-year-old Hibbing man, died at the scene. The 29-year-old driver from Chisholm was treated and released at a nearby hospital.

Neither man was wearing a seat belt or helmet, the sheriff's office said, and both were thrown from the ATV.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, but the sheriff's office said "speed, alcohol, and not using appropriate safety restraints are contributing factors."