UPDATE FEBRUARY 4, 2022:
A second person has died as a result of injuries suffered in a two-vehicle crash Jan. 24, 2022 eight miles west of Flandreau.
Preliminary crash information indicates that a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado pickup, pulling an enclosed trailer, was northbound on Interstate 29 when the vehicle hit a patch of ice. The vehicle and trailer slid through the median and collided with a 2006 Nissan Murano, that was southbound on Interstate 29.
Pat Mitchel, the 75-year-old driver of the Nissan, was pronounced dead at the scene. Doris Mitchel, the 76-year-old female passenger, sustained life-threatening injuries and was transported to a Sioux Falls hospital. She died Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022. Both were wearing seat belts.
Two male passengers in the pickup were injured. One passenger, 18, suffered serious non-life threatening injuries and was transported to a Sioux Falls hospital. The other passenger, 42, received minor injuries and was taken to the Flandreau hospital. Johannes Hofer, the 19-year-old male driver from Sioux Falls, was not injured. Seat belt use for all three pickup occupants is under investigation.
Both I-29 southbound lanes were closed to traffic for several hours.
South Dakota’s Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
The Highway Patrol is part of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety.
UPDATE JANUARY 27, 2022:
A 75 year old man from White, SD, has been identified as the person killed in a two-vehicle crash Monday morning (Jan. 24, 2022) eight miles west of Flandreau.
Preliminary crash information from the South Dakota Highway Patrol says Pat Mitchel was driving a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado pickup, pulling an enclosed trailer, northbound on Interstate 29 when the vehicle hit a patch of ice. The vehicle and trailer slid through the median and collided with a 2006 Nissan Murano, that was southbound on Interstate 29.
Mitchel was pronounced dead at the scene. His 76-year-old passenger, Doris Mitchel, sustained life-threatening injuries and was transported to a Sioux Falls hospital. Both were wearing seat belts.
Two male passengers in the pickup were injured.
One passenger, 18 year old Jerome Waldner of Sioux Falls, suffered serious non-life threatening injuries and was transported to a Sioux Falls hospital. The other passenger, 42 year old Lucas Decker of Sioux Falls, received minor injuries and was taken to the Flandreau hospital. The 19-year-old male driver, Johannes Hofer, was not injured. Seat belt use for all three pickup occupants is under investigation.
Both I-29 southbound lanes were closed to traffic for several hours.
South Dakota’s Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
The Highway Patrol is part of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety.
JANUARY 25, 2022:
One person died and three others were injured in a two-vehicle crash Monday morning (Jan. 24, 2022) eight miles west of Flandreau.
Names of the five people involved are not yet being released.
Preliminary crash information from the South Dakota Highway Patrol indicates that a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado pickup, pulling an enclosed trailer, was northbound on Interstate 29 when the vehicle hit a patch of ice. The vehicle and trailer slid through the median and collided with a 2006 Nissan Murano, that was southbound on Interstate 29.
The 75-year-old male driver of the Nissan was pronounced dead at the scene. The 76-year-old female passenger sustained life-threatening injuries and was transported to a Sioux Falls hospital. Both were wearing seat belts.
Two male passengers in the pickup were injured. One passenger, 18, suffered serious non-life threatening injuries and was transported to a Sioux Falls hospital. The other passenger, 42, received minor injuries and was taken to the Flandreau hospital. The 19-year-old male driver was not injured. Seat belt use for all three pickup occupants is under investigation.
Both I-29 southbound lanes were closed to traffic for several hours.
South Dakota’s Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
The Highway Patrol is part of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety.
Dr Mitchel was a MACV-SOG warrior in Vietnam – operating under officially as 5th Special Forces Group (A). He was one helluva a leader and pulled his team, Recon Team Colorado, from total annihilation. You can hear Dr Mitchel’s mission and the dire situation his team was in. He kept his cool throughout. This took place in Cambodia. In the recording it starts off with Dr Mitchel yelling “I’m taking Prairie Fire, taking Prairie Fire!”. The radio traffic you hear are multiple aircraft trying to lay heavy fire around his team, sometimes as close a s 100 meters to his position.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7vsU8_bZn8
Rest easy Dr Mitchel. You definitely earned it.