A motorcyclist was killed in a chain-reaction crash involving three other vehicles Tuesday afternoon on Hwy. 95 just west of North Branch, Minn.

The State Patrol shut down both directions of the highway near 392nd Street for a few hours after the crash, which occurred about 3:45 p.m., according to a State Patrol crash report.

The 58-year-old motorcyclist, whose name has not been released, was heading east on Hwy. 95 when a westbound Dodge Ram rear-ended a Chevy Cruze that had stopped behind another vehicle that was making a left turn. The impact pushed the Cruze into the eastbound lanes where it struck the motorcyclist, the patrol said.

The Dodge Ram, driven by Thomas Jason Crowson, 26, of Cambridge, Minn., then struck a Honda Fit that had stopped to make a left turn.

Crowson and the driver of the Cruze, Robert Alan Lakeberg, 57, of Stanchfield, were not seriously hurt. Both men were wearing seat belts, the patrol said.

The driver of Honda Fit, James Mark Aufderhar, 62, of North Branch, was not hurt. He was wearing a seat belt, the patrol said.

Roads were dry at the time of the crash and alcohol was not believed to have been a factor, the patrol said.

Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768