Two people have died in separate weekend crashes on metro area roads.
On Saturday afternoon, a motorcyclist died after colliding with a pickup truck in the city of Nowthen.
The motorcyclist was traveling west on Viking Boulevard just before 1:30 p.m. when the bike struck the passenger side of a pickup turning onto NW. Iguana Street from the eastbound lane, according to the Anoka County Sheriff's Office.
The male rider died at the scene. A man and woman inside the pickup were unharmed.
A Hopkins man died late Friday when his SUV collided with a semitrailer truck just outside of Maple Lake.
The victim was Jeffery S. Christiansen, 64. The truck driver, a Maple Lake man, was not injured.
According to the State Patrol, Christiansen was driving east on Hwy. 55 at Donnelly Drive NW. shortly after 10 p.m. when he ran into the truck, which was backing into a driveway and blocking both lanes of the highway.
The road was dry and alcohol was not a factor, the State Patrol said.
