On a somber Friday afternoon, tragedy struck near the University of Minnesota as 20-year-old Easton Macoy Kleven of Woodbury lost his life in a motorcycle crash. The incident, which unfolded on September 5, 2025, just before 2:00 PM, has reverberated through the Minneapolis community, raising fresh concerns about road safety, speed, and the enduring cost of reckless driving.
According to MinnesotaNow, the State Patrol responded swiftly to the scene at the busy I-94 and Huron Blvd interchange, a well-traveled gateway connecting the university to the wider city. First responders found Kleven’s motorcycle resting on the onramp to Interstate 94, a grim testament to the violence of the crash. Investigators determined that Kleven had been traveling at a high rate of speed as he attempted to merge onto eastbound I-94. In a split second, his attempt went awry: the motorcycle slammed into a barrier, throwing Kleven onto the right shoulder of the interstate.
The aftermath was immediate and devastating. Despite being rushed to a Minneapolis hospital, Kleven succumbed to his injuries. The State Patrol’s report made clear that he had been wearing a helmet at the time of the crash and that alcohol played no role in the incident. The stark facts left little room for speculation—speed, rather than substance, proved fatal that day.
Just as the Twin Cities community was coming to terms with this loss, another courtroom hundreds of miles away echoed with the pain left by another act of reckless driving. In Ballston Spa, New York, the Saratoga County District Attorney’s Office announced the sentencing of Everhett R. Hatlee, an 18-year-old from Troy, to five to fifteen years in state prison for aggravated vehicular homicide. The case, as reported by local authorities, stemmed from a horrific crash on June 29, 2024, in Waterford, New York—one that claimed the life of a 14-year-old girl and left her 16-year-old brother seriously injured.
Hatlee’s story, detailed by the Saratoga County District Attorney’s Office, is a chilling reminder of the consequences of impaired and reckless driving. On the night of the crash, Hatlee was behind the wheel, significantly impaired by marijuana—a fact confirmed by blood tests and his own admissions. He was traveling at what prosecutors described as "an incredibly high rate of speed" when he lost control of his vehicle. The car careened off the road, struck the ground multiple times, and smashed through several utility poles before coming to a rest. The result was catastrophic: 14-year-old Kiera Ebert, a passenger, was killed, while her 16-year-old brother suffered serious injuries. Hatlee, for his part, walked away unscathed. The siblings, heartbreakingly, were unrelated to Hatlee.
The sentencing, delivered by Judge James R. Davis in Saratoga County Court, capped a legal process that began with Hatlee’s guilty plea to aggravated vehicular homicide on June 13, 2025. Initially charged with first- and second-degree vehicular manslaughter, aggravated driving while intoxicated, and several misdemeanors and traffic violations, Hatlee ultimately accepted responsibility for his actions. Yet, as the victim’s mother, Cherie Ebert, made clear in her victim impact statement, no sentence could undo the devastation wrought by that night. She spoke movingly of her daughter, describing her as "the one you wanted to be around" and "her family’s sunshine." In her words, "that light has gone out."
Matthew R. Coseo, Chief of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau, underscored the broader lesson to be drawn from the case. "No parent should ever have to suffer the loss of a child, let alone because of someone’s criminal choice to speed and drive recklessly, all while impaired by cannabis," Coseo said, as quoted in the district attorney’s office news release. "There is simply no excuse for this crime, where it claimed the life of an innocent child and seriously injured another and has directly affected so many lives, families and communities."
Both tragedies—one in the heart of Minneapolis, the other on a quiet road in upstate New York—highlight the profound risks that come with excessive speed and impaired driving. While the circumstances differed—Kleven’s crash involved no substances, only speed, while Hatlee’s was a deadly combination of marijuana impairment and recklessness—the outcomes were heartbreakingly similar. Young lives were cut short, families were shattered, and communities left to grapple with loss and the search for meaning.
Road safety experts have long warned that speed remains one of the leading contributors to fatal accidents, especially among young drivers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, speeding was a factor in 29% of all traffic fatalities in the United States in recent years. Helmets and safety gear, while crucial, cannot always protect against the force of a high-speed collision. In Kleven’s case, the State Patrol’s report made it clear: despite wearing a helmet and having no alcohol in his system, the sheer velocity of the crash proved fatal.
On the other hand, the growing legalization and normalization of cannabis in many states have sparked new debates about impaired driving. While alcohol has long been recognized as a major risk factor, marijuana’s effects on reaction time, judgment, and motor skills are increasingly in the spotlight. The Saratoga County case is a stark illustration of these dangers. Blood tests confirmed Hatlee’s significant impairment at the time of the crash, and the district attorney’s office left no doubt about the role cannabis played in the tragedy.
The stories of Kleven and the Ebert siblings serve as painful reminders that the decisions made behind the wheel can have irreversible consequences. For the families left behind, the loss is immeasurable. Cherie Ebert’s words resonate far beyond the walls of the courtroom: lives were changed in an instant, and the void left by a loved one’s absence is one that time cannot easily heal.
As communities in Minnesota and New York mourn, local officials and advocates are once again calling for renewed attention to road safety—urging drivers to slow down, remain vigilant, and never get behind the wheel impaired. The hope is that by sharing these stories, others might pause before taking a risk, remembering that every choice on the road carries weight.
In the end, the legacies of Easton Kleven and Kiera Ebert are not defined solely by the tragedies that claimed them, but by the lives they touched and the lessons their stories impart. For their families, friends, and the broader public, the message is clear: the cost of reckless or impaired driving is simply too high to bear.
