MINNEAPOLIS — A pair of motorcycle crashes overnight have claimed the lives of two young riders.
The first happened just after 11:30 p.m. Thursday on southbound I-35 in New Market Township. The Minnesota State Patrol said 20-year-old Cooper Russell Bertram of Elko was negotiating a lane split at a high rate of speed when he rear ended an SUV with his Suzuki.
Bertram was declared dead on the scene. He was wearing a helmet.
The second fatal crash occurred just minutes after midnight on I-35W in Minneapolis. The patrol said 23-year-old Piper Louise Forsen was riding southbound when she failed to negotiate a curve in the interstate near Hennepin Avenue and struck a guardrail. Forsen was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center but did not survive her injuries.
Troopers said she was also wearing a helmet.
