Motorist charged in serious crash north of Two Harbors
Duluth News Tribune (archive.ph)
By Tom Olsen
2025-06-23 22:46:25GMT
TWO HARBORS — A Milwaukee-area man allegedly had hallucinogenic mushrooms in his van and showed signs of impairment when he slammed into a scissor lift on a North Shore highway last week, critically injuring a worker.
Patches Magickbeans, 34, of Hartland, Wisconsin, was charged Monday with three crimes in the crash that left Benjamin John Kidd, 27, of Duluth, with life-threatening injuries.
Authorities said Magickbeans struck the maintenance equipment in the Lafayette Bluff Tunnel along Minnesota Highway 61, about 8 miles north of Two Harbors, just before 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Kidd was thrown to the ground from the lift, which had been extended to the ceiling, while a second worker, Bradley Nicholas Kostiuk, 37, of Duluth, was able to grab a light fixture and pull himself to safety with only minor injuries.
According to a criminal complaint:
An off-duty police officer was traveling north behind Magickbeans and captured the incident on his dash cam. He told a sheriff’s deputy the van was “swerving and weaving” on the road and then hit a curb and several traffic cones before ramming into the lift.
The van then hit the tunnel wall and rolled several times, landing on its side and trapping Magickbeans inside. The officer reported the driver seemed to show signs of drug impairment and became combative with rescue personnel.
Kostiuk told the deputy he heard the cones getting hit and looked to see a van moving fast in their direction. He then grabbed onto the overhead lighting system, apparently getting clipped on the hip by the falling lift. He managed to pull himself up and tuck his knees to his chest on a rail as he awaited assistance from first responders.
Magickbeans was helped out of the van and continued to show signs of impairment. He was reportedly “saying things did not make sense,” making erratic movements, displaying an “absent look such as not being able to focus on anything or anyone” and “interacting with things in the air that were not there.”
Kidd and Magickbeans were both airlifted to Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth, where the worker remained hospitalized with “critical and life threatening injuries” as of Monday.
The highway was closed in both directions for several hours before the scene was cleared.
In Magickbeans’ van, investigators found two plastic bags with suspected psilocybin mushrooms weighing approximately 90 grams.
When a state trooper met with the defendant Saturday, he indicated he suffered a couple broken ribs and said the last thing he remembered was driving in Cloquet. He said he did not have any alcohol or drugs that day, has no medical conditions and slept 12 hours the night before.
Magickbeans told the trooper he forages for the mushrooms himself and had a small one the day before, along with an edible. However, he said there would not be any controlled substances in his system and that he was unsure why he would have struck the workers.
A blood sample was taken at the hospital under a search warrant following the crash. Results were still pending.
Magickbeans, who has no apparent criminal history, is charged with felony and gross misdemeanor criminal vehicular operation and felony second-degree possession of a controlled substance.
Judge Steve Hanke set unconditional bail at $75,000 and also ordered a potential supervised release option. Magickbeans’ next court appearance was scheduled for Aug. 4.
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GFM created 2022-11-14:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/patchs-top-surgery (archive.ph)
https://www.instagram.com/patches.magickbeans/ (imginn)(archive.ph)
Duluth News Tribune (archive.ph)
By Tom Olsen
2025-06-23 22:46:25GMT
TWO HARBORS — A Milwaukee-area man allegedly had hallucinogenic mushrooms in his van and showed signs of impairment when he slammed into a scissor lift on a North Shore highway last week, critically injuring a worker.
Patches Magickbeans, 34, of Hartland, Wisconsin, was charged Monday with three crimes in the crash that left Benjamin John Kidd, 27, of Duluth, with life-threatening injuries.
Authorities said Magickbeans struck the maintenance equipment in the Lafayette Bluff Tunnel along Minnesota Highway 61, about 8 miles north of Two Harbors, just before 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Kidd was thrown to the ground from the lift, which had been extended to the ceiling, while a second worker, Bradley Nicholas Kostiuk, 37, of Duluth, was able to grab a light fixture and pull himself to safety with only minor injuries.
According to a criminal complaint:
An off-duty police officer was traveling north behind Magickbeans and captured the incident on his dash cam. He told a sheriff’s deputy the van was “swerving and weaving” on the road and then hit a curb and several traffic cones before ramming into the lift.
The van then hit the tunnel wall and rolled several times, landing on its side and trapping Magickbeans inside. The officer reported the driver seemed to show signs of drug impairment and became combative with rescue personnel.
Kostiuk told the deputy he heard the cones getting hit and looked to see a van moving fast in their direction. He then grabbed onto the overhead lighting system, apparently getting clipped on the hip by the falling lift. He managed to pull himself up and tuck his knees to his chest on a rail as he awaited assistance from first responders.
Magickbeans was helped out of the van and continued to show signs of impairment. He was reportedly “saying things did not make sense,” making erratic movements, displaying an “absent look such as not being able to focus on anything or anyone” and “interacting with things in the air that were not there.”
Kidd and Magickbeans were both airlifted to Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth, where the worker remained hospitalized with “critical and life threatening injuries” as of Monday.
The highway was closed in both directions for several hours before the scene was cleared.
In Magickbeans’ van, investigators found two plastic bags with suspected psilocybin mushrooms weighing approximately 90 grams.
When a state trooper met with the defendant Saturday, he indicated he suffered a couple broken ribs and said the last thing he remembered was driving in Cloquet. He said he did not have any alcohol or drugs that day, has no medical conditions and slept 12 hours the night before.
Magickbeans told the trooper he forages for the mushrooms himself and had a small one the day before, along with an edible. However, he said there would not be any controlled substances in his system and that he was unsure why he would have struck the workers.
A blood sample was taken at the hospital under a search warrant following the crash. Results were still pending.
Magickbeans, who has no apparent criminal history, is charged with felony and gross misdemeanor criminal vehicular operation and felony second-degree possession of a controlled substance.
Judge Steve Hanke set unconditional bail at $75,000 and also ordered a potential supervised release option. Magickbeans’ next court appearance was scheduled for Aug. 4.
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GFM created 2022-11-14:
My top surgery date is quickly approaching and I’ve recently had some unexpected financial burdens, so I am asking for help to ensure I’m able to cover all the costs.
For those of you who don’t me… I’m Patch, a 31 year old transman. My trans story goes back to age 7 when I came out as a boy for the first time. During puberty I went back into the closet (even to myself) and struggled a lot as a teenager. Somehow when I was 19, I found the FTM community on YouTube and it didn’t take long before I decided that transitioning was a path I was going to take in life. Walking in both worlds has honestly been an honor and a blessing. I never want to erase the woman inside of me…. BUT, I’ve been living as a man with breasts for 12 years now. While it’s definitely not something I find unbearable, it really does create barriers in my life. Yes, I can wear a binder in most settings, but they are not comfortable and aren’t always safe. I broke a rib this past winter from binding at jiu jitsu. && I’m tired of having to decide if I’m in a safe space to be able to take my shirt off in public settings.
My body has taken so many different forms over the years and I know this won’t be it’s last, but I am truly looking forward to how wonderful it will feel to be free.
I’m having surgery in Florida with Dr. Garramone on December 8th. The total cost of surgery is $14,680 and another $1500 for travel expenses. I’ve been working my buns off since July and have payed for most of the surgery already but due to some unanticipated, unfortunate events, I’ve had to use the rest of my savings elsewhere.
For those of you who don’t me… I’m Patch, a 31 year old transman. My trans story goes back to age 7 when I came out as a boy for the first time. During puberty I went back into the closet (even to myself) and struggled a lot as a teenager. Somehow when I was 19, I found the FTM community on YouTube and it didn’t take long before I decided that transitioning was a path I was going to take in life. Walking in both worlds has honestly been an honor and a blessing. I never want to erase the woman inside of me…. BUT, I’ve been living as a man with breasts for 12 years now. While it’s definitely not something I find unbearable, it really does create barriers in my life. Yes, I can wear a binder in most settings, but they are not comfortable and aren’t always safe. I broke a rib this past winter from binding at jiu jitsu. && I’m tired of having to decide if I’m in a safe space to be able to take my shirt off in public settings.
My body has taken so many different forms over the years and I know this won’t be it’s last, but I am truly looking forward to how wonderful it will feel to be free.
I’m having surgery in Florida with Dr. Garramone on December 8th. The total cost of surgery is $14,680 and another $1500 for travel expenses. I’ve been working my buns off since July and have payed for most of the surgery already but due to some unanticipated, unfortunate events, I’ve had to use the rest of my savings elsewhere.
https://www.instagram.com/patches.magickbeans/ (imginn)(archive.ph)
