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In-line skater failed to stop at sign in fatal accident
Staff Writer A 59-year-old in-line skater who died Sunday after being struck by a vehicle on Crow Wing County Road 107 in Pequot Lakes had failed to stop at a stop sign on the Paul Bunyan Trail, the Pequot Lakes Police Department reported.
The fatal collision happened about 10:15 a.m. on Upper Crow Wing County Road 107 in south Pequot Lakes near Highway 371. County Road 107 loops around East Twin Lake, with both the north and south ends intersecting with Highway 371.
The victim, Robert Eugene Forrer, Zimmerman, and his daughter, Denise Schnabel, 31, Monticello, were skating north on the Paul Bunyan Trail when they went through a stop sign and Forrer was struck by an eastbound vehicle driven by Zane Matthew Smith, 21, Pequot Lakes.
Responding officers and first responders were unable to revive Forrer and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Forrer and his wife, Janine, own a cabin near Crosby.
Pequot Lakes Police Chief Jerry Braam said the trail's intersection with Crow Wing County Road 107 is clearly marked by stop signs but people on the trail often disregard them.
"In this instance, on upper County Road 107, it's a 55-mph county road," Braam said. "That adds a whole element of danger. Where most crossings are in town, or where (vehicle) speeds are lower and controlled. This happens to be in a zone that's 55."
Forrer was wearing a helmet, Braam said. The vehicle struck Forrer on the right side of his chest, Braam said, and his injuries were all internal. Schnabel wasn't struck by the vehicle.
Terry McGaughey, Paul Bunyan Trail volunteer coordinator, said he's never heard of a fatality on the Paul Bunyan Trail. He said because most sight lines along the trail at road intersections are good, people often don't stop at the posted stop signs.
"If a person is wearing a helmet and attentive to site lines, most likely they won't stop for stop signs," McGaughey said.
Assisting the Pequot Lakes Police Department was the Nisswa Police Department, the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Department, the State Patrol, North Ambulance and Zone 3 First Responders.
Braam said the State Patrol reconstructed the crash Monday morning and the case would be forwarded the Crow Wing County attorney's office for review. Braam said he didn't foresee any criminal charges stemming from the fatal collision.
MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson @brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.
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