One dead in two-vehicle crash near Sturgis – Mitchell Republic

STURGIS, SD — An 83-year-old woman died Friday morning when a boat on a trailer came loose and collided head-on with her vehicle near Sturgis.

The names of the people involved have not been released pending notification of family members.

According to the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, preliminary crash information indicates that the driver of a 2016 Chrysler 300 was traveling southbound on SD Highway 79 near mile marker 124. At the same location, the driver of a 2022 Ford F-350, pulling a pontoon boat on a trailer, was traveling northbound when the trailer hitch on the pickup truck came loose and the safety chains failed to control the trailer and boat.

The trailer and boat entered the southbound lane and collided with the Chrysler. The trailer, boat and Chrysler came to rest in the southbound shoulder and west ditch. The driver of the Chrysler suffered fatal injuries. The driver and passenger of the pickup truck were uninjured.

The accident occurred around 10:21 a.m. Friday near mile marker 24 of SD Highway 79, about 11 miles north of Sturgis.

The South Dakota Highway Patrol is investigating the accident. All information released so far is preliminary.

The Highway Patrol is an agency of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety.

Our newsroom occasionally reports under the name “Mitchell Republic.” The name “Mitchell Republic” is often used when rewriting basic news briefs from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure that requires little or no reporting. Sometimes this name is used when a story has multiple authors or when the story consists of summarizing previously reported news from various sources. When outside sources are used, this is noted in the story.