A 34-year-old Little Falls woman was airlifted to St. Cloud Hospital Friday evening after her e-bike went off Scandia Drive and into a ditch south of Motley. Heather Bauer had been traveling west on Scandia Drive when she lost control and ended up in the ditch, unable to move.
The Morrison County Sheriff's Office reported that the crash happened at about 5 p.m. south of Motley, according to WJON. Bauer sustained injuries that have not been specified, and a Life Link III helicopter transported her to St. Cloud Hospital for treatment. The sheriff's office has not detailed what caused Bauer to leave the roadway, and it remains unclear whether mechanical failure, a drop-off at the road's edge, or a medical event contributed to the crash, per the same account.
The Morrison County Sheriff's Office, which is investigating the crash, is led by Sheriff Shawn Larsen, who has held the post since January 2015 and oversees roughly 80 personnel responsible for public safety across the rural county, according to Morrison County. Bauer's air transport was handled by Life Link III, a non-profit air medical consortium that runs 11 helicopter bases across Minnesota and Wisconsin, including one in nearby Brainerd, and completes more than 2,000 critical care flights each year, per Life Link III. That regional air capacity is often what stands between a rural crash site and a trauma center capable of treating serious injuries.
A Prior Crash in the Same County
Bauer's history with serious traffic incidents in Morrison County predates this crash. In May 2021, a then-28-year-old Bauer was seriously injured in a two-vehicle collision on Highway 371 near Camp Ripley, when her vehicle was struck by a pickup truck as she attempted to cross traffic lanes, WJON reported at the time. The earlier crash occurred in the same county, giving local context to the area's emergency response history involving Bauer.
What Minnesota Law Says About E-Bikes
Under Minnesota Statute § 169.222, electric-assisted bicycles are defined as vehicles with fully operable pedals and an electric motor capped at 750 watts, with riders required to be at least 15 years old. The law grants e-bike riders the same legal rights and responsibilities as traditional bicyclists on state roadways, according to the Minnesota Revisor's Office.
Rising E-Bike Injuries Statewide
Bauer's crash arrives amid a documented rise in e-bike injuries across Minnesota. A study published by BikeMN in March 2026, analyzing Minnesota Department of Health hospital data from October 2023 through March 2025, found that adults 18 and older accounted for 81% of hospital-treated e-bike injuries statewide, or 414 of 514 cases, while single-vehicle non-collisions made up 52% of youth e-bike crashes, according to BikeMN. That data undercuts the assumption that rural e-bike incidents mostly involve younger riders, and it points to single-vehicle control losses — like veering off a road and into a ditch — as a major crash mechanism among adults.
Emergency departments and clinics across Minnesota treated 466 patients for e-bike injuries during the spring and summer of 2025, and Regions Hospital reported an 800% surge in e-bike hospital admissions since 2023, as reported by MPR News. Statewide, Minnesota Department of Public Safety data shows that while overall traffic fatalities fell 22% in 2025 to 370 deaths, bicycle-related fatalities doubled over the same period. Nationally, a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission report published in April 2026 documented 533 micromobility deaths between 2017 and 2024, with annual fatalities climbing from 5 in 2017 to 135 in 2024.
Crash Forces Compared to Motorcycle Collisions
In July 2026, Hennepin Healthcare trauma specialists and Minnesota law enforcement issued public safety guidance warning that e-bike crash forces can mimic motorcycle collisions given the vehicles' weight and speed capabilities. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data published in July 2025 recorded 1,166 pedalcyclist deaths nationwide in 2023, a category that includes motorized bicycle operators, reflecting a 4% increase over 2022 alongside nearly 50,000 injuries. Hoodline previously covered an e-bike collision in Brooklyn Park that left two children injured, part of a broader pattern of e-bike incidents drawing scrutiny from Minnesota trauma specialists this year.
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