A 69-year-old Pine Island man died Saturday afternoon after his motorcycle collided with an eastbound cargo van on Highway 60 in Wabasha County, according to the state patrol. Donald M. Battey was riding a 1991 Harley-Davidson westbound on Highway 60 when the crash happened near mile marker 214 in Glasgow Township, a few miles southwest of Wabasha. Battey died at the scene, the state patrol said.
The Dodge Ram ProMaster cargo van Battey struck was carrying three people, including a 14-year-old boy, according to Bring Me The News. The state patrol said none of the three occupants of the van were injured in the collision, and the teenager was wearing his seatbelt. Investigators also said Battey was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, per the same account.
A Deadly Pattern at Mile Marker 214
Saturday's crash marks yet another serious wreck at the same stretch of Highway 60 where a 27-year-old Minneapolis motorcyclist died less than a week earlier. That rider lost control and struck a guardrail near the identical mile marker on August 30 in Glasgow Township, according to FOX 9. The station also reported a separate curve-related guardrail collision at the same location on August 23, part of a cluster of serious crashes concentrated on this short stretch of roadway in recent weeks.
Hoodline previously reported on the August 30 fatality in a story headlined Third Guardrail Hit Near Same Marker, which detailed how that crash was already the third serious incident at or near mile marker 214 within weeks. Glasgow Township itself is a sparsely populated rural jurisdiction covering 35.7 square miles, with an estimated 227 residents, according to Census Reporter data — making the repeated crash cluster all the more striking for such a small community.
Officials Already Moving to Fix the Road
The danger along this stretch of Highway 60 has not gone unnoticed by state and local officials. Local and state officials had already secured $9 million in federal and state infrastructure grants to realign Trunk Highway 60 in Wabasha County, addressing dangerous curves and drop-offs along the Mississippi River bluffs, according to Hoodline's earlier reporting. The funding underscores that authorities were aware of the corridor's hazards before this month's fatal crashes occurred.
Part of a Statewide Surge in Motorcycle Deaths
Battey's death also lands amid a broader crisis on Minnesota roads. Motorcycle fatalities statewide surged in 2026, reaching 37 deaths by mid-July compared to 24 during the same period in 2025, putting the state on pace for its highest annual rider death toll in decades, FOX 9 reported. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety has said roughly half of all fatal motorcycle crashes in the state occur on rural roadways, with the other half happening in the Twin Cities metro area.
Minnesota law does not require helmet use for licensed motorcyclists 18 and older; Statute 169.974 mandates helmets only for riders under 18 or those operating with an instruction permit, according to Meshbesher & Spence. Speed-related crashes claimed 102 lives and caused 388 serious injuries statewide during 2025, per the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Statewide, 2023 data showed 1,018 motorcycle crashes resulting in 962 injuries and 67 fatalities, with male riders representing roughly 86% of all injured or killed motorcyclists, according to Hall Law Personal Injury Attorneys.
Overall traffic fatalities in Minnesota have actually fallen, reaching 363 deaths in 2025 — a drop of more than 20 percent compared to recent peak years following targeted enforcement and infrastructure investments, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety reported. That statewide decline stands in sharp contrast to the rising motorcycle death toll, and to the small stretch of Highway 60 near mile marker 214 that has now claimed multiple riders in a matter of weeks.
