Sanborn man is state’s first motorcycle fatality of 2017

Published 9:55 am Wednesday, March 8, 2017

SANBORN — Minnesota has recorded its first motorcycle fatality of 2017.

The Redwood County sheriff’s office says 60-year-old Gregory Werner was riding his motorcycle Sunday evening in Sanborn when he crashed into a ditch while navigating a curve.

Authorities say he was not wearing a helmet.

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The Star Tribune reports Werner’s death was the second earliest motorcycle fatality ever in Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety says the earliest on record occurred on Feb. 23, 2002.

Last year, when there were 61 motorcyclists killed on Minnesota. The first fatality that season occurred on March 7.