Motorcyclist Dies, Passenger Injured in Minnetonka Crash
Traffic diverted on westbound Hwy. 12 in Minnetonka on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. Via MnDOT
A motorcyclist died and his passenger was hospitalized Saturday evening after a crash on Highway 12 in Minnetonka.
It led to authorities closing down the westbound lanes for several hours as the investigation unfolded.
The Minnesota State Patrol says the crash happened around 7:45 p.m. on Oct. 5, 2024, when 58-year-old Garrett Mathew Dawson, of Becker, was heading westbound on Highway 12 from Carlson Parkway on a 2016 Harley-Davidson FLTRXS.
Initial information says that Dawson lost control and struck a concrete curb. Both Dawson and his passenger, 58-year-old Melissa Ann Varner, of Buffalo, Minn., were ejected from the motorcycle. Dawson died at the scene.
Neither Dawson nor Varner were wearing helmets and both were under the influence of alcohol, the Patrol said.
Varner was transported to North Memorial with non-life-threatening injuries. As of 11 p.m. Saturday, the westbound lanes of Highway 12 remained closed while investigators continued their work.
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