A motorcycle speeding along a major St. Cloud thoroughfare crashed into a minivan, sending the rider through a window on the van and out the other side, police said.
Taylor R. Anderson, 20, from neighboring Sartell, died Wednesday night at St. Cloud Hospital, according to authorities. The driver of the van, 71-year-old Jon A. Maier, of St. Cloud, was the only person in that vehicle and escaped unharmed.
Witnesses to the collision early Wednesday evening on southbound County Road 75 at Oak Ridge Lane told police that the motorcyclist was traveling at least 75 to 80 miles per hour in the moments leading up to the broadside crash. The speed limit there is 50 mph.
The motorcyclist "was launched through the driver's side rear-door window and out the passenger side of the vehicle," a statement from police read.
Anderson noted on his Facebook page on July 23, "Well it finally happened I got myself a bike. Couldn't be more happy." The posting included a photograph of a blue and yellow 2006 Honda sport-style motorcycle.
Police said the motorcycle Anderson was riding when he crashed looks like the one in the photo.
Anderson's driving record in Minnesota includes two convictions for speeding within the past six months, once in late March for going 45 mph in a 30-mph zone, and once in July for going 73 mph in a 55-mph zone in Blaine while racing on Central Avenue.
St. Cloud police Sgt. Jason Burke said that witnesses reported seeing another motorcycle some distance ahead of Anderson's about the time of the crash, but Burke could not confirm that the two had been racing.
