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• Ellsworth man killed after striking farm implement; two airlifted after Sunday crashes
• Monday motorcycle crash kills River Falls man

ELLSWORTH - A 55-year-old rural Ellsworth man died Satuday evening when he crashed his motorcycle into the back of a farm implement being pulled by a large tractor along Hwy.10 just east of the Gas-Lite.

Richard Hanson died about 7:20 p.m., Saturday, according to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.

Hanson was driving his 1981 Honda westbound on U.S. 10 near Highway O when he crested a small hill and was apparently blinded by the setting sun.

He crashed into the rear of the digger that was being pulled by a large Versatile four-wheel drive tractor, also westbound on the shoulder of U.S. 10. The tractor driver -- Caleb Cobian, 15, of rural Hager City, was not injured.

Hanson was pronounced dead at the scene by Sue Dzubay, Pierce County Medical Examiner.

The tractor was equipped with a flashing light bar and slow-moving vehicle sign.

Funeral arrangements for Mr. Hanson are pending with the Hill Funeral Home in Ellsworth.

He lived about three miles from the crash location.

Several other people were injured over the weekend in motorcycle crashes around the county.

Mid-afternoon Sunday, a pair of motorcycles collided while traveling on Hwy. 35 near CTH A in the town of Maiden Rock.

Virgil Fedorenko, 73, of Hudson, was airlifted to Regions Hospital in St. Paul with undetermined injuries after his cycle rear-ended one driven by David Lujan, 34, of South St. Paul. Lujan and his passenger, Julie Beard, 31, of Rosemount, Minn., sustained minor injuries and were not transported.

Maiden Rock EMS, a paramedic from Ellsworth and the Lund Fire Department assisted deputies at the scene.

Two hours later, deputies responded to another crash on Hwy. 35 in the town of Diamond Bluff when a Plymouth, Minn., man lost control of his motorcycle in a curve and was ejected into the ditch. William Pasquarette, 52, was airlifted from the scene to Regions with undetermined injuries.

The accident occurred near 370th Avenue, north of Diamond Bluff.

Deputies were assisted by Red Wing fire and ambulance personnel.

There were also two other motorcycle crashes but details weren't immediately available.

A 32-year-old River Falls man was killed Monday night when his motorcycle crashed into a ditch just north of 690th Avenue in River Falls Township.

The man was traveling on County Road E when his motorcycle left the road, crashed into a ditch and overturned, according to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.

The man, whose name has not yet been released, was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene.

His passenger, a 31-year-old River Falls woman, was transported to Regions Hospital in St. Paul with undetermined injuries.

Neither victim was wearing a helmet, authorities said. Speed appears to be a factor in the crash.