Watch: Police responding to surge of motorcycle crashes, reckless driving complaints

New police video shows motorcyclist running a red light and results of crash in downtown Moorhead.

MOORHEAD, Minn. (KVRR) – Police are urging drivers to take it easy following a number of motorcycle crashes involving fatalities and serious injuries.

Dashcam video shows a motorcyclist running a red light at Center and Eighth Ave. South in Moorhead on June 12.

The officer briefly pursues him, but calls off the chase when they arrive in a construction zone.

The officer continues following at a distance, only to find the motorcyclist injured and down on the ground a few blocks later.

“This is a community-wide issue,” Moorhead Police Capt. Deric Swenson said.

“It’s a question of cooperation with the drivers, with the motorcycle driver, and us. If we can get people to stop driving recklessly, we can cut down on the number of those calls for service.”

Swenson says the motorcycle rider will be charged with fleeing.

In the past few weeks, three people have died following motorcycle crashes in West Fargo, Grand Forks and Fergus Falls, Minnesota.

Moorhead police say on average, about one of five recent calls is a reckless driver call. Swenson says with staffing shortages, sometimes police can’t respond quickly enough to catch the driver.