Local Motocross racer passes away from crash on bike, benefits for family to be held

By: 
Jarrod Schoenecker, editor@montgomerymnnews.com

Austin Kristiansen riding his dirt bike on the track. (Submitted photo)

Austin Kristiansen, 21, of Le Center, passed away the afternoon of Saturday, September 9 from injuries received while riding his dirt bike at the Meadow Valley Motocross Track in rural Wabasha County in southeastern Minnesota.

At approximately 1:10 p.m., the Wabasha County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call to an accident at the track. “It’s just a tragic thing. The way it went down. He crashed his bike and he was talking when we arrived and then ambulance took him away,” said Wabasha County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Jim Warren.

Kristiansen passed away shortly after leaving the scene in the ambulance, according to Chief Deputy Warren. The sheriff’s office, Lake City Fire Department, Lake City Ambulance, and Mayo One assisted on the call.

The unexpected news traveled quickly among friends and those who knew Kristiansen. “Everybody loved him. He would do anything for any of us. I remember one time we went to watch him race in Jordan and my daughter was begging for a dirt bike after that. He would sometimes bring his dirt bike over here for her to ride, and I thought that was really nice,” said Jake Kline.

Kline hired Kristiansen while he was still in high school to work for his kennel business that trains dogs. “He liked dogs, and he had his own dog. He did a great job for me when he worked here. He was such an easy-going guy and had lot of patience with the dogs,” Kline said. Kristiansen worked for him a couple of years, including some time after high school while he was attending Dakota County Technical College (DCTC).

Kristiansen was a 2020 graduate of Tri-City United High School and was involved in...

To see more on this story pick up the September 21, 2023 print edition of the Montgomery Messenger. 

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