This is an ugly one, so please take care while reading. Also, there are no good answers at the end of it, except to always stay vigilant of what traffic around you is doing if you ride motorcycles on the street. In the end, it doesn't matter who's right or not; if you are a motorcyclist, cars and trucks ARE bigger than you, and sometimes drivers of those vehicles can and will purposely seek to hurt or kill you. Full stop.
On August 21, 2026, criminal charges were filed in the state of Minnesota against a truck driver named Timothy William Arthur Hall, in the matter of the death of motorcyclist Roy John Berger.
RideApart has viewed both the official charging documents and the incident report in this matter. Here's what they say happened.
Just before 4 p.m. on August 20, 2026, a Minnesota State Patrol officer was dispatched to the scene of a crash involving a fatality on Minnesota Highway 371, near where it intersects with Minnesota Highway 200. Once there, the officer observed that a motorcycle (later recorded in the incident report as a 1999 Harley-Davidson Dyna Low Rider) "had crashed into a cable barrier with heavy damage and the driver was deceased."
Witnesses reported that a semi truck had fled the scene of the crash and were able to describe details of the truck to the officer. After law enforcement was able to identify and stop a truck driven by Timothy William Arthur Hall, he reportedly denied being involved in a crash. However, the report goes on to state that "damage was located on the semi that was consistent with the crash along with what appeared to be possible human fluids/remains on the mud flap of the semi."
Additional reports from witnesses "described the semi as intentionally swerving onto the shoulder of the road in an attempt to block the motorcycle from passing it....The semi made a quick maneuver toward the shoulder and pushed the motorcycle into the cable barrier causing the crash. Then the semi had run over the motorcycle driver. The semi did not stop and fled from the scene."
In this case, the MSP was able to obtain additional key evidence: Dash camera footage from inside the semi. The trucking company turned over the footage, which "showed [Hall's] semi make a quick maneuver to the left to prevent the motorcycle from passing. The motorcycle then tried to pass on the right shoulder and the semi made a quick maneuver towards the cable barrier causing the crash."
It goes on to say, "the semi crossed over the solid white line quickly going towards the shoulder where the motorcycle and deceased driver were later found. The roadway was noted as being clear of debris and there was no hazard on the road that would have required the swerving seen in the video."
Because of the witness statements and the dash camera footage, Hall received two Criminal Vehicular Homicide charges: one for operating a motor vehicle in a grossly negligent manner, and one for being a driver who causes a collision and then leaves the scene.
Hall is currently being held in jail with bond set at $250,000, awaiting a court appearance scheduled for August 31, 2026. As of August 24, 2026, Hall has an order denying appointment of a public defender on file regarding this case.
Both the witness reports and the descriptions of the dashcam footage paint a picture of what seems likely to have been a road rage incident. One where, for a reason known only to Hall, he simply couldn't let a motorcycle pass him on the highway, and was willing to do anything and everything in his power to prevent that slight from happening. Even if it meant the motorcyclist had to die in order to atone for whatever offense the truck driver believed he had committed against him.
It's senseless, it's tragic, and road rage nonsense like this unfortunately happens far more frequently than any of us should be comfortable with. Listen, I know people drive stupidly sometimes; I'm out here in these streets, too.
But whether you're riding a motorcycle or driving a much bigger, heavier vehicle, you have to ask yourself: Is your anger REALLY worth killing someone over? Yes, I fervently wish that more BMW drivers used their turn signals, too. But the most I'm gonna do about it is mutter and curse in my helmet, shake my head, and promptly forget about it a few minutes later. What I'm not going to do is escalate the situation.
That also holds true when I'm driving a car. Because I'm a motorcyclist, I'm usually extra aware of any motorcycles I see out on the road while I'm driving, and I try to have their backs as best I can (like, say, positioning myself behind them so another vehicle can't tailgate them).
Drivers do dumb stuff, and sometimes motorcyclists do, too. But generally speaking, it's not worth dying (or killing) over. Yell, flip someone off, get it out of your system; but ultimately, here's hoping all of us make it home at the end of the day.
If you're a rider, you already know you need to ride defensively; it's something the MSF drills into you through all its courses if you take them. I'm sure other riding schools do, as well; there's simply no getting around the fact that motorcyclists are much more likely to end up on the losing side of any vehicle-on-vehicle impacts out on the road.
Keep your eye on how traffic around you is behaving, and always be prepared to take evasive action before something happens. And if a situation looks sketchy AF to you, don't second-guess yourself. Just get yourself out of there. You can go back over it in your mind later, once you're safe; but maybe you won't be able to do that if you hesitate.
Ride safe, everyone.
