A motorcycle and an SUV collided at an East Bethel intersection, killing both riders on the motorcycle and landing the SUV driver in jail on suspicion of being drunk, authorities said on Monday.
The crash occurred about 7:40 p.m. Sunday at Viking Boulevard and Rendova Street, according to the Anoka County Sheriff's Office.
Dead at the scene were a 48-year-old man from St. Francis and a 46-year-old woman from Big Lake, the Sheriff's Office said. Their identities were withheld pending notification of relatives.
Arrested was a 42-year-old woman from Bethel, the Sheriff's Office said. She is suspected of criminal-vehicular homicide and has yet to be charged.
"The driver exhibited signs that she was under the influence of an alcoholic beverage," said Sheriff's Cmdr. Paul Sommer, who added that any potential charges would reveal precisely how far over the legal limit of 0.08 percent blood alcohol content the woman was at the time.
The motorcycle was heading west on Viking Boulevard and braking heavily before it hit the SUV on the driver's side door, the Sheriff's Office said.
Authorities said they were less clear about the SUV's movements before the crash or even what road it was on before ending up pointed south and then struck on the driver's side between the two doors.
"There were no witnesses to the accident, and the suspect gives a statement that is conflicting to the physical evidence," said Sommer, "so we can't say for sure if she was on Rendova or just doing a U-turn on Viking."
