Motorcycle crashes leave two dead

Two separate motorcycle crashes – one in Dunn County and the other in St. Croix County – over the weekend have claimed the lives of two men.

Joseph D. Unser, 29 of Eau Galle, WI, died early Saturday morning, September 26 when the motorcycle he was operating struck a deer in the Town of Eau Galle in Dunn County.

Then, less than 24 hours later, 39-year-old Jason Thomas Anderson of Somerset was killed after losing control of his motorcycle on an exit ramp in the Town of Somerset in St. Croix County.

Neither driver was wearing a helmet when the accidents occurred. Both were the lone occupants of their respective motorcycles.

Dunn County Crash

According to the Dunn County Sheriff’s Office, Joseph Unser was headed north on County Road Z just south of County Road D in the Town of Eau Galle when he struck a deer and was ejected around 3:00 a.m. Saturday, September 26. Unser, who was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident according to the Sheriff’s Department’s news release, suffered extensive head trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Assisting the Dunn County Sheriff’s Office were Durand Fire and Ambulance, Pepin County Sheriff’s Office and the Dunn County Medical Examiner’s Office.

St. Croix County Accident

Alcohol is believe to have played a factor in the motorcycle death of a Somerset man in the early hours of Sunday, September 27.

Jason T. Anderson was driving a 2003 Harley Davidson motorcycle eastbound along State Highway 35/64 when he attempted to take the off-ramp at Exit 9 in the Town of Somerset and lost control.

Anderson entered the south ditch and was ejected from his motorcycle. The St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office received the call at 12:48 a.m.

Life Link III helicopter was dispatched to the crash but no transport was made as Anderson, who did not have a helmet on at the time of the crash, was pronounced dead at the scene by  the St. Croix County Medical Examiner.

This was St. Croix County’s eighth traffic fatality of 2015.