WILLIAMS COUNTY, ND – The North Dakota Highway Patrol reported on Sunday that three people died on the state’s roadways on Saturday, Sept. 7 in three separate crashes.

Two of the crashes happened in Williams County, in the northwest corner of the state.

The first happened 23 miles north of Williston just before 11:00 p.m. when a 1991 Kenworth straight truck eastbound on 69th St. NW braked and swerved to avoid a cow in the road, the state patrol release said. The truck hit the cow and ran off the road to the north and rolled. The 64 year-old driver from Williston died at the scene. He was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. The owner of the livestock was identified as Michael Skor.

The second Williams County crash happened about 45 minutes later 23 miles southwest of Williston on Highway 1804, the state patrol said. A 2018 Harley Davidson motorcycle with a driver and passenger was traveling westbound on near mile marker 341 when it ran off the road and entered the north ditch.

Both occupants were transported to CHI St. Alexius in Williston. A 41 year-old man from Culbertson, Montana, died at the hospital. A 40 year-old woman from California suffered serious injuries. Neither was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. Confirmation of which occupant was the driver and which was the passenger is still under investigation.

The third crash reported by the state patrol happened in Renville County, north of Minot, just after 3:30 p.m. A 2006 Harley Davidson Motorcycle driven by 66 year-old William Foondle of Minot was eastbound on County Road 26, approximately 2 miles east of Grano, when it failed to negotiate a curve and ran off the road.

A 52 year-old woman from Minot who was a passenger on the motorcycle died at the scene.

Foondle suffered serious injuries and was transported to Trinity Hospital in Minot. He faces charges of DUI and no motorcycle endorsement. Neither rider was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, the state patrol’s release said.

The names of the deceased victims in the crashes will be released on Monday, Sept. 9, according to the state patrol.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.