A 57-year-old motorcyclist struck a deer shortly after sunset on a North Shore highway and was killed, authorities said Thursday.

Michael L. Johnson of Duluth hit the large deer broadside shortly before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday on northbound Hwy. 61 near Larsmont Road in Two Harbors, according to the State Patrol.

Johnson died the next morning at St. Luke's Hospital in Duluth. He was not wearing a helmet, the patrol said.

From 2010 through 2012, there have been 16 traffic fatalities in Minnesota involving collisions with deer, according to the state Department of Public Safety (DPS). Only Stearns County, with two, had more than one in that three-year period.

Public safety officials advise motorcyclists to avoid riding at dusk, when deer are on the move. When encountering deer, according to the DPS, use both brakes to stop. If possible, steer carefully and slowly around the deer if there is space.

Paul Walsh