At least two motorists have died in separate crashes on Minnesota roads in the first part of the Memorial Day weekend.
Kayli K. Thompson, 19, of Burnsville, died early Saturday in a single-vehicle rollover crash on Interstate 35W in Burnsville, authorities said.
She was a passenger in a sedan heading south on I-35W near Burnsville Parkway, according to the State Patrol. Just after 7:20 a.m., the car veered off the road, struck a sound wall and landed in a ditch.
The driver, James R. Lapsley, 20, of Prior Lake, was treated for noncritical injuries at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. Like Thompson, he was wearing a seat belt. He had no alcohol in his system, the patrol said.
Late Friday, a 21-year-old motorcyclist was killed after his motorcycle skidded off a wet road in southeastern Minnesota. The Stewartville, Minn., man, whose name has not been released, was southbound on County Road 8 in Racine Township, about 15 miles south of Rochester, about 10 p.m. when he hit a slick driveway. He died at the scene.
In northern Minnesota, a motorcyclist and his passenger were injured Friday evening after striking a moose.
Kenneth Shoberg, 67, and his wife, Mary Ann Shoberg, 65, were heading north on Hwy. 6, east of Big Falls, when a moose ran out in front of their Yamaha motorcycle. Both had been weraing helments; the International Falls couple were taken to area hospitals.
The stretch between Memorial Day and Labor Day marks the 100 deadliest days on Minnesota roads. The State Patrol urged drivers to "put away the distractions, slow down, buckle up and drive sober."
