Saint Cloud, MN (July 27, 2026) — A motorcyclist was injured on Saturday afternoon, July 25, in a collision at Highway 15 and 8th Street North in Saint Cloud, Stearns County, investigators said. The motorcycle was headed south on Highway 15, and a minivan was headed west on 8th Street, when the two came together.
Kenneth Angelo Grinsell, 63, of Saint Cloud was riding the motorcycle, a BMW R1200. He was taken to Saint Cloud Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and was wearing a helmet.
Jamie Marie Gorney, 42, of Cold Spring was driving the minivan, a Chrysler Town and Country, and was not injured. She was wearing a seatbelt, and the minivan’s airbags did not deploy.
The road was dry at the time of the wreck, and alcohol was not suspected as a factor for either driver, investigators said. Emergency units were sent to help both people involved. The exact cause of the accident remained under review as this report was filed.
We’re glad to hear the injuries were not life-threatening, and we wish Grinsell a full recovery.
Helmet Condition Matters as Much as Wearing One
Helmets remain one of the most effective ways to reduce the severity of a head injury in a motorcycle fall. A properly fitted helmet spreads out the force of a hard hit across a wider area and absorbs some of that energy before it reaches the skull, rather than letting it transfer directly.
Full-face helmets offer more protection than half helmets or open-face styles, since they also shield the jaw and lower face during a fall. Riders sometimes choose lighter or smaller helmets for comfort, but that tradeoff can mean less coverage in exactly the areas most likely to hit the ground first.
Helmet age and condition matter almost as much as the style. The foam liner inside a helmet is designed to compress once during a hard hit, so a helmet that has already taken one hard hit shouldn’t be trusted to perform the same way again. Most manufacturers recommend replacing a helmet every five years even without a known fall, since the materials break down over time.
