A handful of motorcycle crashes late last week reflects a recent uptick in rider deaths around the region.
At least 26 riders have died this year in Minnesota, up from 16 this time last year.
A Minneapolis man was killed Friday night when he lost control of his off-road motorcycle at a private property near Henning and ran into a tree, according to a news release from the Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office.
Kurt Ophus, 54, was taken to Tri-County Health Care, where he was pronounced dead just after 10 p.m. The sheriff's office is investigating that incident.
Wadena County Sheriff Mike Carr said that while his office hasn't investigated any serious motorcycle crashes recently there have been a number of ATV accidents.
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"There are a lot more motorcycles around," he said. "A lot of it is just being aware of your surroundings."
He recommends not riding a motorcycle at night. Also, sometimes crashes happen because of driver inexperience. Carr also wants drivers of all vehicles to be aware of motorcycles and be cautious.
Another recent motorcycle crash involved Michael Flugstad, 60, of Fargo, who was riding his motorcycle eastbound on Interstate 94 near Freeport around 7:30 p.m. Friday when the Toyota Corolla in front of him abruptly slowed down. Flugstad, unable to slow, rear-ended the car and was thrown from his bike.
Travis Winterquist, 41, of Argusville, was behind the motorcycle when the accident happened. He said Flugstad's bike turned sideways and skidded a bit while Flugstad rolled a couple of times in the driving lane.
A nurse was in one of the cars behind Winterquist and an emergency medical technician student was in another.
"There was help there pretty much immediately," Winterquist said. "I was trying to call 911 but the line was [tied up] so I'm sure everyone was trying too."
Flugstad was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The 23-year-old driver of the Toyota, Alexander Boelter, and his 24-year-old passenger, Katia Vantries, are both from Morris. Neither were injured in the incident.
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Eleven of the riders killed this year were older than 50, according to a release from the State Patrol. Three of the riders were passengers.
At least 17 of the fatal accidents occurred in rural areas.
Two motorcyclists were injured in Stearns County about 8:30 a.m. Saturday when Christopher W. Cannon, 43, of Park Rapids, lost control of his bike on a wet road and ran into 23-year-old Kyle Mausel of Minneapolis on his motorcycle.
Both were taken to St. Cloud Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the State Patrol.
Many of the riders killed so far this year weren't wearing a helmet, the release said.
Officials are asking motorists to look twice for motorcycles on the road and encouraging motorcyclists to wear helmets and take training courses to help them stay safe.
Forum News Service contributed to this report.
