Fairmont Riders, Both Unhelmeted, Suffer Life-Threatening Injuries In Deer Strike Near Windom

Two motorcyclists from Fairmont, Minnesota, were left with life-threatening injuries Sunday morning after their bikes struck a deer on Highway 71 near Windom, and neither of them was wearing a helmet when they went down. The Minnesota State Patrol says the crash happened around 10:50 a.m. on northbound Highway 71 at 440th Street in Great Bend Township, in Cottonwood County.

The riders have been identified as 56-year-old Donna Johnson, who was driving a 2006 Honda, and 62-year-old Trent Johnson, who was riding a 2007 Kawasaki, according to Explore Okoboji. Both were headed north when they struck the same deer, according to a Minnesota State Patrol crash report cited by FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul. Troopers say the road was dry at the time and that alcohol was not a factor in the crash.

Both Johnsons were transported to Sanford Hospital in Sioux Falls, per the same Explore Okoboji report. FOX 9 has not released further detail on the specific nature of their injuries beyond the state patrol's determination that both suffered life-threatening harm.

Why Neither Rider Was Wearing A Helmet

Troopers confirmed neither Johnson was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. That was legal: under Minnesota Statute § 169.974, helmets are required only for riders under 18 or those operating with an instruction permit, meaning adult riders with full endorsements, like the Johnsons, can legally ride without one, according to Meshbesher & Spence. State law does still require eye protection, such as goggles, glasses, or a face shield, for all motorcycle operators regardless of age.

Motorcyclists Bear The Brunt Of Deer Strikes Statewide

The crash lands squarely within a pattern researchers have flagged for years: deer collisions are disproportionately deadly for people on two wheels. Minnesota Department of Public Safety data shows motorcyclists accounted for 15 of the 18 deer-vehicle collision deaths recorded statewide between 2016 and 2020, even though more than 6,200 total deer crashes were logged over that same five-year span, according to the ATC Agency. For drivers in enclosed vehicles, these strikes mostly cause property damage; for riders, they're far more likely to be fatal.

Official numbers likely capture only a fraction of how often this happens. The state records roughly 1,200 to 1,300 deer-vehicle crashes a year, but researchers at the University of Minnesota's Center for Transportation Studies estimate the real total could run 10 to 20 times higher, up to 40,000 annually, since most non-fatal, property-damage-only strikes never get reported to police, per the Center for Transportation Studies. Joint research from MnDOT and the university puts the combined statewide cost of these collisions, in injuries, fatalities and property damage, at roughly $220 million a year.

Sunday's Crash Comes Ahead Of The Riskiest Season

Sunday's crash arrived weeks before Minnesota's deer activity typically peaks. The Minnesota Department of Transportation reports that late October and November account for more than half of all annual deer-vehicle crashes, as mating season overlaps with shrinking daylight, with a smaller secondary spike in May and June during birthing season. State Farm claim studies also rank Minnesota among the ten riskiest states nationally for hitting an animal, estimating drivers face roughly a 1-in-64 to 1-in-81 chance of a strike each year.

Traffic safety officials with the Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust advise drivers to brake firmly in a straight line rather than swerve if a deer appears in the road, since sudden lane changes at highway speed often cause deadlier secondary crashes into guardrails, trees or oncoming traffic. Minnesota has seen other rural highway wildlife crashes in recent months: a 60-year-old motorcyclist was hospitalized in June after hitting a deer on Highway 10 north of Royalton, according to the Morrison County Sheriff's Office. And in a case with far more severe legal fallout, a Becker driver was charged with criminal vehicular homicide after a 2024 deer strike on I-94 left an SUV disabled in a travel lane, triggering a fatal secondary rear-end collision.