Central Minnesota motorcycle crash leaves 64-year-old man dead

Authorities say a 64-year-old man died when he crashed his motorcycle late Friday morning in central Minnesota.

According to the Stearns County Sheriff's Office, the crash happened just before noon near the intersection of County Road 50 and Glenwood Road in Wakefield Township, about a mile and a half north of Cold Spring.

Officers with the Cold Spring Police Department found a motorcycle in the southbound ditch along with a man who police say was not wearing a helmet. Despite life-saving measures, the man died at the scene. He was identified as Stephen Joseph Gretsch, of Albany, Minnesota.

The sheriff's office says Gretsch had been traveling south on County Road 50 with two other motorcyclists. As the group entered a curve, Gretsch's motorcycle continued to go straight and left the roadway, entering the ditch. Authorities say his motorcycle sustained extensive damage "consistent with having rolled during the crash."

A fiber optic cable box and a utility pole were also struck and damaged in the crash.

The incident remains under investigation.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety reports that at least 45 motorcyclists have been killed in crashes so far this year in the state.