Kerrick man dies from motorcycle crash injuries

A 64-year-old Kerrick man has died from injuries suffered in a motorcycle crash early Saturday on Minnesota Highway 23 in Carlton County.

The Minnesota State Patrol reported that Walter Stafford died Wednesday at Essentia Health St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth.

Stafford was riding a Harley-Davidson northbound on Highway 23 south of Carlton County Highway 4 just after midnight Saturday when he lost control, left the road and was thrown from the bike.

Speed was believed to be a factor in the crash, the Patrol reported last weekend. It appeared Stafford was wearing a helmet at the time.

Stafford was a Vietnam veteran who served in the First Marine Air Wing as a “tunnel rat” from 1966 through 1969, according to friend George Bendt.

“The Viet Cong would have caves, rooms underground, and he would crawl down those with the snakes and the rats, probably with a knife between his teeth, and hunt for Viet Cong,” Bendt explained. “He was kind of a hero.”

Known as “Boots” to his friends, Stafford’s friends had planned a big birthday party for him Saturday in Mahtowa.

The Patrol reported Wednesday that the crash remains under investigation.

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