Motorcyclist Airlifted After Crash with Pickups, Boat Trailer in Itasca County

Jul 6

A 57-year-old motorcyclist suffered life-threatening injuries Sunday in a crash involving two pickup trucks and a boat trailer on Highway 169 in Itasca County.

The crash happened just after noon on July 6 near milepost 316 in the city of Taconite.

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According to the Minnesota State Patrol, traffic had slowed in the southbound lanes as an unknown vehicle waited to turn left onto Gibbs Park Road. A 2010 GMC Sierra, driven by a 22-year-old man from Taconite, was hauling a boat and was stopped behind the turning vehicle.

A 53-year-old man, also of Taconite, was driving a 2013 Ford F150 and pulled onto the shoulder to avoid a collision during the slowdown.

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A motorcyclist riding a Harley Davidson, also traveling southbound, entered the slowdown and struck both the boat being towed by the Sierra and the side of the F150. The motorcyclist, identified as Jerry Music, 57, of Taconite, was not wearing a helmet and sustained life-threatening injuries. He was flown by helicopter to North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale.

The drivers of both pickup trucks and a 60-year-old female passenger in the Ford were all uninjured.

Road conditions were dry at the time of the crash and officials say alcohol was not involved. Itasca County deputies, Taconite and Greenway fire crews, Nashwauk Ambulance and North Memorial Air Care responded to the scene.

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