Motorcyclist dies after hitting car near Nashwauk intersection

Star Tribune

Last update: June 16, 2009 - 8:42 PM

A motorcyclist was killed after she struck a car that crossed into her path at an intersection on the Iron Range in northern Minnesota, authorities said.

Adrianne Chase, 44, of Keewatin, Minn., died shortly after the crash Monday night at Hwys. 169 and 65, on the southern edge of Nashwauk, the State Patrol said. Chase was not wearing a helmet, the patrol said.

The driver of the car, Tiffany Staszcuk, 20, of Chippewa Falls, Wis., was uninjured, the patrol said.

Staszcuk was turning onto northbound Hwy. 65 from north Hwy. 169 as it curves east, when she was hit broadside by Chase's Harley-Davidson heading in the opposite direction on Hwy. 169, the patrol said.

Staszcuk had a yield sign to observe as she came to the intersection, said Nashwauk Police Chief Paul Vraa. There was no signal or sign for Chase to obey as she went through the intersection, Vraa said. Authorities are investigating why the car pulled into the motorcycle's path on the four-lane divided highway.

PAUL WALSH