2 Killed, 1 Seriously Hurt In Separate Motorcycle Crashes Thursday Evening

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Two people are dead and another seriously hurt following two separate motorcycle crashes Thursday evening in Minnesota.

The Minnesota State Patrol says the first crash happened around 6:30 p.m., when a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and a semi collided on Highway 42 near Eyota in southeastern Minnesota. The motorcycle's driver, a 49-year-old Rochester man, was killed. His passenger, a 48-year-old Rochester woman, was serious hurt.

Paramedics brought the injured woman to St. Mary's Hospital for treatment. Her injuries were described as "life-threatening." She was not wearing a helmet.

The second motorcycle crash happened about two hours later and more than 200 miles away in rural Cashel Township, roughly 30 miles west of Willmar in west-central Minnesota.

According to investigators, 49-year-old Michael Allen Fifield, of Benson, was riding a Kawasaki motorcycle north on Highway 29 when he lost control and entered a ditch. Fifield died of injuries suffered in the crash.

He also was not wearing a helmet.