By Patrick Tepoorten

The May 9 collision that killed motorcyclist Daniel James Hase, 53, of Stacy, has been referred to the Chisago County Attorney's Office after an accident reconstruction report from the Minnesota State Patrol (MSP) placed more blame on a tow truck driver than originally ascribed.

Randall James Swenson, 52, was attempting a left hand turn from County Road 19 onto Lion Street at approximately 7:15 p.m., when he was struck by Hase, traveling eastbound on CR-19. Hase was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Chisago County Sheriff's Office originally believed that the sunset played a significant role in the crash, but the reconstruction report emphasized driver error as the primary cause.

"It was likely the result of driver inattentiveness/distraction combined with the potential visual hazard presented by the setting sun," said the report, completed by MSP Sgt. Lance Langford.

A witness, who was driving directly behind the tow truck, stated she was able to see the oncoming motorcycle, leading Langford to conclude, "If (the witness) was able to observe the motorcycle approaching with the tow truck in front of her, then Swenson should have been able to see it."

In conclusion, Langford's report stated that the crash was "a combination of his (Swenson's) failure to maintain a forward field of vision and inattentive driving."

The report was released on Monday, July 30, and it was unknown at press time if the county attorney's office will pursue charges.

Comment from Jonathan Banks, 8/6/07

Mr. Tepoorten

Thank you for the follow-up article! Its nice to see ambition to report a much more detailed article on this matter.

Comment from Cynthia Tague, 12/11/07

As you point your finger at the tow truck driver based upon the eye witness's account that he/she could see the motorcycle, my question is. Was the eye witness driving a vehicle that sits up as high as the tow truck driver does? If not then how can we be sure the sun wasn't worse up higher then it was for the eye witness. It is always easy to point your finger at someone, but people do make mistakes. This could happen to you.