Highway 61 was blocked in the Spruce Creek area of Lutsen after a motorcycle crash on Thursday, June 13. A Minnesota Department of Transportation crew and Lutsen Fire Department provided traffic control while the accident victim was being cared for. The Thunder Bay woman in the accident remains in critical condition at St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth.
A Thunder Bay woman was critically injured when she lost control of the 2001 Honda motorcycle she was driving in Lutsen at 12:08 p.m. on Thursday, June 13.
Pirjo Biloski, 61, and her husband, Kenneth Biloski, 63, both of Thunder Bay, Ontario, were traveling east on Highway 61. The couple had communication devices in their helmets. When they came to the long straight stretch between Cascade River State Park and Spruce Creek, Kenneth pulled out to pass vehicles and Pirjo followed. Kenneth determined that they should not pass and using the communication system told his wife to “pull back in.”
When Pirjo Biloski attempted to do so, the rear brake on her motorcycle locked and the bike flipped and rolled. The motorcycle came to a stop in the middle of the westbound lane of traffic. Biloski was wearing a helmet, however it was jarred loose on impact.
A Minnesota Department of Transportation crew passing by stopped and provided traffic control. Lutsen First Responders and Cook County Ambulance responded and Pirjo Biloski was transported to Cook County North Shore Hospital. She was then taken by medical helicopter to St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth. At press time a St. Luke’s spokesperson said she remains in critical condition.
Traffic was backed up on Highway 61 for about 45 minutes as Biloski was cared for and the wrecked motorcycle was removed.
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