A man from Willow Lake has been identified as the person who died in a Thursday night (July 24, 2025, at 11:03pm) crash 14 miles east of Fort Thompson.
Preliminary crash information indicates 24 year old Tyler Brandon Koste from Hendrum, MN, was driving a 2015 Peterbilt hauling hay bales on SD Highway 34 near mile marker 284 when a strap broke causing the rear bales to fall off the trailer. In an effort to go back and clear the bales from the road, the driver attempted to turn the semi around near a gravel road intersection and the rear tires of the trailer got stuck in the south side ditch, immobilizing it. The approaching driver of a 2022 Toyota Prius, 43 year old Hector Salvador Serna, collided with the trailer.
Serna sustained fatal injuries. He was wearing a seat belt. Koste was not injured.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
The Highway Patrol is an agency of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety.
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