Lyndon "Lyn" Lane Sheplee, 64, of Cokato and a longtime local sports commentator, was thrown from a motorcycle and killed at about midnight Thursday, June 14, in French Lake Township. Early reports indicate he may have hit a deer, according to the Wright County Sheriff’s Department.
The sheriff’s office received a report of a motorcycle crash on County Road 35 West near Norling Avenue Northwest in French Lake Township at 12:16 a.m. Thursday, June 14. According to an early police investigation, Sheplee appeared to be traveling westbound on County Road 35 when he lost control of his 1983 Honda motorcycle after possibly colliding with a deer. Sheplee was thrown from the motorcycle and pronounced dead at the scene.
Sheplee had once worked for KDUZ/KARP AM Radio out of the Hutchinson, Glencoe areas and was most recently working at KRWC AM 1360 Radio in Buffalo as a sportscaster. Details of the crash remain under investigation by the Wright County Sheriff’s Office.
According to KRWC’s website, Sheplee was a "mainstay of KRWC Radio Sports for more than a decade and was well-known and respected throughout the region for his daily sportscasts and play-by-play broadcasts. … His presence both on and off the air will be sadly missed." Funeral arrangements for Sheplee are pending.
Motorcycle fatalities
Sheplee’s death marks the first motorcycle fatality in Wright County since 2010, according to Wright County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Captain Dan Anselment.
"In Wright County, we have not had a motorcycle fatality since 2010 when we had two," Anselment said. "Last year, we did not have any and this one (in French Lake) is the first in 2012."
It is also the third in the Annandale area so far in 2012. In March, Bryce Davis, 22, of Maple Lake, crashed his motorcycle into a nearby lake, Troy Anderson, St. Cloud, crashed his motorcycle in South Haven April 4 and the Wright County Sheriff’s Department responded to a motorcycle crash with injuries in Corinna township April 14.
According to Stephanie Kaufenberg, public information officer at the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s motorcycle safety center, the early spring has likely contributed to an increased number of motorcycle fatalities already in 2012. So far this year, there have been 17 motorcycle fatalities compared to 10 for the same time period in 2011. May alone was especially deadly with seven motorcycle fatalities statewide and of the overall number of accidents on Minnesota roads, motorcycles accounted for one-third.
"Riders were out on the road earlier this year," Kaufenberg said. "We had our first fatality in March."
Kaufenberg added that overall motorcycle ridership is on the rise which means more motorcyclists on the road increases the chances of crashes involving motorcycles.
"Ridership and registered motorcycles are at a record high and on the rise," Kaufenberg said. "We have over 230,000 registered motorcycles in the state and nearly 400,000 licensed operators. With the economy better, more people are turning to motorcycles for transportation and fuel efficiency."
And while most motorcycle accidents are single-vehicle crashes – often because of unsafe speed, driver distraction and inexperience – hitting a deer like Sheplee did, is uncommon. According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s 2011 annual report, other contributing factors for motorcycle crashes with other vehicles include following too closely, failure to yield right of way to motorcyclists, driver inattention and simply ignoring motorcyclists on the road.
Statewide, motorcycle related fatalities last year decreased in 2011 by five percent and of those, 58 percent were age 40 and over. And while Minnesota does not have a mandatory helmet law, the DPS report suggests that wearing one can greatly increase a person’s chances of surviving a crash. Out of the 42 motorcycle related fatalities in 2011, only 13 were wearing a helmet and of the 1,248 motorcyclists who were injured last year, only 488 were wearing one.
Motorcycle safety
The Minnesota DPS urges motorcyclists to take a safety course, which are available for all levels of experience. There are also a number of safety tips available for both motorcyclists and motorists at motorcyclesafety.org.
Be the first to comment