Garden City man airlifted after side-by-side crashes with pickup

A Garden City man was airlifted to a Twin Cities hospital after a side-by-side and a pickup collided on Highway 169 Thursday afternoon.

Carter Jacob Klause, 22, was transported to North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale with life-threatening injuries following the crash between Garden City and Vernon Center.

Klause was operating a CFMotoZForce 800 that was eastbound on Blue Earth Co Rd 31 when it collided shortly after 1 p.m. with a Dodge Ram pickup that was northbound on Highway 169, according to a Minnesota State Patrol crash report.

Blaine Andrew Stephenson, 27, of St. Cloud was driving the pickup. Stephenson and his passenger, 53-year-old Timothy Laman of Stanchfield were not injured.

The state patrol says alcohol was detected in Klause’s system.