Motorcyclist hurt in I-94 crash in St. Paul; bike flies over median, injuring motorist, state patrol says
A collision late Tuesday night on Interstate 94 in St. Paul injured a motorcyclist, whose bike flew over the median and hurt a motorist traveling in the other direction.
The Minnesota State Patrol says the crashes happened at about 10 p.m., with the first one occurring in the interstate's eastbound lanes near Prior Avenue.
The motorcyclist was thrown from their bike, which then flew "over the concrete barrier into the westbound lanes, striking another vehicle," the state patrol said.
The motorcyclist was taken to Regions Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the vehicle struck by the flying bike suffered minor injuries and was taken to Minneapolis' Hennepin Healthcare. The motorist involved in the first crash wasn't hurt.
The accident shut down both sides of the interstate for less than an hour, said the state patrol, which is still investigating.
These crashes occurred on the same day a new state law took effect allowing motorcyclists to practice lane splitting and lane filtering in certain situations.
Lane splitting is when a motorcyclist passes a motorist traveling in the same direction in the same lane. The new law allows the practice to occur at speeds of 25 mph or less.
Lane filtering is when a motorcycle moves between lanes of traffic when other vehicles are at a standstill, with the law capping a motorcycle's speed at 15 mph above the speed of traffic.
Motorists who impede a motorcyclist's right to safely split or filter could face a misdemeanor.
It's unclear whether the motorcyclist was performing either move in Tuesday's crash.
