The scene of a fatal motorcycle crash Thursday evening in Falcon Heights. MN CRIME PHOTO
A 32-year-old motorcyclist from Coon Rapids died Thursday night after a crash in Falcon Heights.
The State Patrol said the collision happened just after 10:20 p.m. on Highway 51, also known as Snelling Avenue North, at Garden Avenue when a northbound Yamaha motorcycle struck a Volkswagen Touareg that was turning east onto Garden Avenue.
Troopers identified the motorcyclist as Samuel Kelly Lewer. He was not wearing a helmet and died at the scene. His passenger, a 25-year-old Scandia woman, was also un-helmeted and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the Volkswagen, a 28-year-old woman from Roseville, was not injured. The State Patrol said alcohol was not a factor for her, but it has not yet been determined whether alcohol played a role for Lewer.
Emergency crews from Roseville and St. Anthony police and Saint Paul Fire and EMS assisted at the scene. The road was dry at the time of the crash, according to the State Patrol.
The crash remains under investigation. Northbound lanes of Snelling Avenue North were closed for several hours while the crash was investigated.
