Motorcyclist Injured After Lane-Splitting Dispute Ends in Hit-and-Run

Jul 31

A Clearwater man is charged with felony assault and two gross misdemeanors after allegedly swerving his pickup truck into a motorcyclist.

The crash happened Tuesday evening in Saint Cloud, causing the rider to hit a median and fall off his bike, resulting in injuries.

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Christopher Ian Gohmann, 36, is charged in Stearns County with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, criminal vehicular operation causing bodily harm through gross negligence, and criminal vehicular operation causing bodily harm and leaving the scene of a collision. All three charges stem from an incident reported Tuesday evening on Division Street.

According to the criminal complaint, police were called around 7:45 p.m. on July 29 for a hit-and-run involving a motorcycle. Officers arrived to find the rider with visible scrapes and road rash to his arm. The man told police he had been riding on Division Street and was stopped at a red light when a red pickup truck pulled alongside. As the light turned green, he said the truck swerved toward him twice, forcing him into the median curb and causing his motorcycle to crash. He was thrown from the bike into oncoming traffic.

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Multiple witnesses told police they saw the crash happen and described the truck’s actions as deliberate. One rider said Gohmann gave the motorcyclist the middle finger before accelerating and veering into his lane. A second witness described it as an “extreme swerve” that caused the crash, followed by the truck speeding away without stopping. Another rider chased the truck to Highway 23 and Lincoln Avenue, where he confronted Gohmann and told him to pull over.

When questioned by law enforcement, Gohmann allegedly admitted he didn’t believe lane filtering was legal and said he was trying to stop the rider from doing it.

Gohmann remains in custody and is being held on an order of detention. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison for the felony assault charge and up to 364 days in jail for each of the gross misdemeanor charges.

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