There's a reason they are called "donorcycles"
My dad and his friend Kyle had just been passed by these folks while riding their Harleys and were only a bit behind them when the accident happened: Crash Ends Bloomington Couples' Motorcycle Tradition
Randy and Kay Metzler of Bloomington were killed while on a weekend ride. Their longtime friends witnessed the crash in Cottage Grove.
By Tim Harlow, Star Tribune
As they often did on summer weekends, Rodger Moy and his wife, Kristie, joined their longtime friends Randy and Kay Metzler for a motorcycle ride through the countryside.
For nearly 20 years, the couples regularly set out on their four bikes, going wherever they could find an open road.
Sunday was their last ride together.
After they logged more than 100 miles, including a stop for dinner in Pepin, Wis., their leisurely day on their bikes came to a deadly ending when a car turning left on Hwy. 61 at 120th Street in Cottage Grove cut in front of the Metzlers, who hit the vehicle and were thrown from their bikes.
Both Metzlers died at the scene.
The driver of the car, Michael L. Anderson, 44, of Minneapolis, was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul with broken ribs and a lacerated liver, the State Patrol said. He was in good condition Monday afternoon, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Authorities have not specified a precise cause of the crash, but a State Patrol report indicated alcohol was detected in Anderson's system. A toxicology test was performed Sunday night, but results were not available Monday, authorities said. Anderson has two previous convictions in the past 10 years for drunken-driving, according to the Hennepin County attorney's office.
The Metzlers, who lived in Bloomington, were not wearing helmets, Rodger Moy said.
After the accident, Rodger went to check on Kay while Kristie went to Randy's side, but there was little they could do.
"He had gotten us out of many jams, and he was always the first one to help," Rodger said of Randy.
Rita Bringe, another friend of the couple, said Randy had worked as a mechanic for 27 years for Metro Transit and most recently ran R & K Repair, an auto repair business, in Bloomington. Kay, she said, liked to collect elephants and spend time with Randy.
"They were very caring, giving and open-minded," Bringe said. "They were generous in their hearts."
My dad and Kyle immediately locked their brakes, parked their bikes on the roadside, and helped to detour traffic around the accident until the police and medics got there. My dad is having trouble sleeping because he actually saw the accident happen.
And he's really bitter about humanity right now. People were arguing with him about driving through the wreckage - with dead bodies on the road - until he changed his line of reasoning for taking another route and told people that their tires would go flat from all the debris. Then, because it affected them directly, the drivers took the alternative route. Because their tires would have gone flat, not because of the dead people on the road.
Randy and Kay Metzler of Bloomington were killed while on a weekend ride. Their longtime friends witnessed the crash in Cottage Grove.
By Tim Harlow, Star Tribune
As they often did on summer weekends, Rodger Moy and his wife, Kristie, joined their longtime friends Randy and Kay Metzler for a motorcycle ride through the countryside.
For nearly 20 years, the couples regularly set out on their four bikes, going wherever they could find an open road.
Sunday was their last ride together.
After they logged more than 100 miles, including a stop for dinner in Pepin, Wis., their leisurely day on their bikes came to a deadly ending when a car turning left on Hwy. 61 at 120th Street in Cottage Grove cut in front of the Metzlers, who hit the vehicle and were thrown from their bikes.
Both Metzlers died at the scene.
The driver of the car, Michael L. Anderson, 44, of Minneapolis, was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul with broken ribs and a lacerated liver, the State Patrol said. He was in good condition Monday afternoon, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Authorities have not specified a precise cause of the crash, but a State Patrol report indicated alcohol was detected in Anderson's system. A toxicology test was performed Sunday night, but results were not available Monday, authorities said. Anderson has two previous convictions in the past 10 years for drunken-driving, according to the Hennepin County attorney's office.
The Metzlers, who lived in Bloomington, were not wearing helmets, Rodger Moy said.
After the accident, Rodger went to check on Kay while Kristie went to Randy's side, but there was little they could do.
"He had gotten us out of many jams, and he was always the first one to help," Rodger said of Randy.
Rita Bringe, another friend of the couple, said Randy had worked as a mechanic for 27 years for Metro Transit and most recently ran R & K Repair, an auto repair business, in Bloomington. Kay, she said, liked to collect elephants and spend time with Randy.
"They were very caring, giving and open-minded," Bringe said. "They were generous in their hearts."
My dad and Kyle immediately locked their brakes, parked their bikes on the roadside, and helped to detour traffic around the accident until the police and medics got there. My dad is having trouble sleeping because he actually saw the accident happen.
And he's really bitter about humanity right now. People were arguing with him about driving through the wreckage - with dead bodies on the road - until he changed his line of reasoning for taking another route and told people that their tires would go flat from all the debris. Then, because it affected them directly, the drivers took the alternative route. Because their tires would have gone flat, not because of the dead people on the road.