Albert Lea man appears on July motorcycle crash charge

(ABC 6 News) – An Albert Lea man faces a charge of criminal vehicular operation–great bodily harm, driver who causes collision leaves scene following a July 3 crash.

Abel Ricardo Balbuena-Morales, 79, appeared in Freeborn County Court Wednesday on the charge. He is scheduled to appear at a pretrial hearing March 13, 2025, followed by a jury trial March 31.

According to court documents, the Minnesota State Patrol responded to a motorcycle crash on I-90, where David Allen Smith, a motorcyclist, was found on the shoulder of the road with his bike in the ditch.

The damage on the motorcycle appeared to have been caused by a rotating tire hitting the left rear fender, according to court documents, and there were tire marks, a fender flare from a Buick Encore, and a brown painted fuel door in the road.

Smith was taken to Mayo Clinic in Austin, then flown to St. Marys Rochester with three spine fractures, two lower right leg fractures, multiple shoulder blade and rib fractures, a broken hand, spleen laceration, and a brain bleed.

According to court documents, Freeborn law enforcement located 7 brown Buick Encores registered in Freeborn County, and 8 more in Mower County.

On July 8, a member of law enforcement found one missing the right rear fender flare and fuel door cover.

According to court documents, Balbuena-Morales spoke with law enforcement and said he had not driven anywhere July 3. Balbuena-Morales claimed the damage occurred in the Walmart parking lot.

Later, law enforcement seized the vehicle and Balbuena-Morales gave a new statement, saying he had been involved in the crash on I-90, but that the motorcycle came up behind him at around 100 mph and he felt the motorcycle hit him.

Smith allegedly told the MSP he had been riding in the right lane of I-90 when the car moved over from the left lane and ran him off the road.