Mankato, MN – The Minnesota State Patrol is investigating a fatal motorcycle crash that occurred on Highway 60 this morning around 10 a.m.
Two motorcycles traveling westbound collided approximately six miles west of Mankato, where the highway curves south. Authorities confirmed that 81-year-old Nancy Beck from Dandridge, Tennessee, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The other rider, 63-year-old Joyce Oliphant of Plano, Texas, was not injured. Both motorcyclists were wearing helmets, and authorities indicated that alcohol was not a factor in the incident.
In a separate incident, the State Patrol responded to another motorcycle crash in Winona on Monday afternoon. Sixty-three-year-old Gary Haines of Watertown, Wisconsin, was involved in a collision while traveling north on Highway 43 with an SUV headed south on Highway 61. This incident was reported shortly after 4:30 p.m.
Haines sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to the Winona hospital. He was also wearing a helmet, with no alcohol involvement reported. The SUV driver, a 56-year-old woman from Viroqua, Wisconsin, was unharmed.
The investigation into both crashes is ongoing.